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THE
MAMMALS OF AUSTRALIA.
BY
JOHN GOULD, F.RS.,
FLS., F.ZS., MES., F.R.GEOG.S. MRAY S.: HON. MEMB. OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF TURIN; OF THE ROYAL
ZOOL. SOC. OF IRELAND; OF THE PENZANCE NAT. HIST. SOC.; OF THE WORCESTER NAT. HIST. SOC.; OF THE
NORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM, AND NEWCASTLE NAT. HIST. SOC.; OF THE NAT. HIST. SOC.
OF DARMSTADT; OF THE TASMANIAN SOC. OF VAN DIEMEN’S LAND; OF THE NAT.
HIST. SOC. OF STRASBOURG ; OF THE NAT. HIST. SOC. OF IPSWICH; AND
CORR. MEMB. SOC. OF NAT. HIST. OF WURTEMBERG.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LON WON:
PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 26 CHARLOTTE STREET, BEDFORD SQUARE.
1863.
LIST OF PLATES.
Macropus major
ocydromus
fuliginosus
Osphranter rufus
Antilopinus
robustus
a oa
Halmaturus ruficollis
Bennettii_ .
ee ORCL
manicatus .
Ualabatus .
agilis
dorsalis
Parma
—— Derbianus .
———— Thetidis
stigmaticus
——- Billardieri
brachyurus
Petrogale penicillata
lateralis
xanthopus .
inornata
brachyotis .
concinna
Dendrolagus ursinus
inustus
Dorcopsis Bruni
Onychogalea unguifer
freenata
lunata
Lagorchestes fasciatus
Leporoides
hirsutus
conspicillatus
Leichardti .
Bettongia penicillata
= = Onilby
Cuniculus .
See ORAyll
rufescens .
campestris
Hypsiprymnus murinus
apicalis
—_— Gilberti
== plabyops
VOL. II.
Great Grey Kangaroo .
West-Australian Great Kangaroo
Sooty Kangaroo
Great Red Kangaroo .
Red Wallaroo
Black Wallaroo .
Parry’s Wallaroo
Rufous-necked Wallaby
Bennett’s Wallaby
Grey’s Wallaby .
Black-gloved Wallaby
Black Wallaby .
Agile Wallaby
Black-striped Wallaby
Parma Wallaby .
Derby’s Wallaby
Pademelon Wallaby
Branded Wallaby
Tasmanian Wallaby
Short-tailed Wallaby .
Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby
Stripe-sided Rock- Wallaby
Yellow-footed Rock-Wallaby
Unadorned Rock-Wallaby .
Short-eared Rock- Wallaby
Little Rock-Wallaby .
Black Tree-Kangaroo
Brown Tree-Kangaroo
Filander :
Nail-tailed Kangaroo . 5
Bridled Nail-tailed Kangaroo
Lunated Nail-tailed Kangaroo
Banded Hare-Kangaroo
Hare-Kangaroo .
Rufous Hare-Kangaroo
Spectacled Hare-Kangaroo
Leichardt’s Hare-Kangaroo
Jerboa-Kangaroo ; :
Ogilby’s Jerboa-Kangaroo .
Tasmanian Jerboa-Kangaroo
Gray’s Jerboa-Kangaroo
Rufous Jerboa-Kangaroo
Plain-loving Jerboa-Kangaroo
New South Wales Rat-Kangaroo
Tasmanian Rat-Kangaroo .
Gilbert’s Rat-Kangaroo -
Broad-faced Rat-Kangaroo
. 31, 32
38, 34
41, 42
. 52, 53
MACROPUS MAJOR, Shaw.
Jbodd oi H.C Richter, del, et kth. Hulinendel & Walton ny.
MACROPUS MAJOR, Shaw.
Great Grey Kangaroo.
Heap or a MALE, LIFE-SIZE.
As reduced figures furnish but an madequate idea of the size and facial expression of the
larger species of Kangaroos, I have been constrained in many imstances to publish double
plates of these important Marsupials. The accompanying illustration will convey a just
conception of the appearance of the animal at the moment of surprise, when it stands
bolt upright on its hind legs, its huge tail completing the tripod which sustains its body.
Twitching of the nose and the upcurling of the lips shown in the drawing are indications
of anger often exhibited by these animals when their haunts are intruded upon. The hairy
muffle, common to all the members of the restricted genus Macropus, is far better shown
in the opposite Plate than it possibly could be in the reduced figures; and this forms an
additional reason for giving the life-sized illustration.
A detailed account of the species will be found on the succeeding page.
ay ical pg
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te
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C Halimanilel Spo.
MACROPUS MAI MIR: Jjhzaw.
MACROPUS MAJOR, Shaw.
Great Grey Kangaroo.
Yerbua gigantea, Zimm. Zool. Geog. Quadr., p. 526.
Didelphis gigantea, Schreb. Saug., tom. iii. p. 552. tab. 154.—Gmel. Edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 109.
Macropus giganteus, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 33.—Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 62.
Kanguroo, Cook’s Voy., vol. iii. p. 577. pl. 20.—Phill. Voy., pl. in p. 106.—White’s Voy., pl. in p. 272.
Macropus major, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. i. p. 305. pl. 115.—Cook’s First Voy., vol. iv. p. 45. pl. 2.—Desm. Nouv.
Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii. p. 33.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl.
Kangurus labiatus, Geoff. Encycl., pl. 21. fig. 4.—Desm. Ency. Méth. Mamm., p. 273.
Halmaturus griseo-fuscus, Goldf. in Oken’s Isis, 1819, p. 266 (Waterhouse).
Macropus ocydromus, Gould in Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. x. p. 1? (Waterhouse).
melanops, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part x. p. 10?
Juliginosus and its synonyms ?
Boomer, Forester, Old Man Kangaroo of the Colonists, Bundaary of the Aborigines of the Liverpool range.
Tuere can be little doubt of the present species being that noticed by our celebrated navigator Cook, in
his voyage round the world in 1770; and as I conceive all information connected with this early-known
species will be interesting, I shall commence my account of its history with a quotation from the above-
mentioned work. ;
“On Friday, June the twenty-second, while stationed for a short time on the south-east coast of
Australia,” says Captain Cook, ‘‘a party, who were engaged in shooting pigeons for the use of the sick of
the ship, saw an animal, which they described to be ‘as large as a greyhound, of a slender make, of a
mouse-colour, and extremely swift.’ The following day the same kind of animal was again seen by a great
many other people. On the twenty-fourth it was seen by Captain Cook himself, who, walking at a little
distance from the shore, observed a quadruped, which he thought bore some resemblance to a greyhound,
and was of a light mouse-colour, with a long tail, and which he should have taken for a kind of wild
dog, had not its extraordinary manner of leaping, instead of running, convinced him of the contrary.
Mr. Banks also obtained a transient view of it, and immediately concluded it to be an animal perfectly new
and undescribed.
«The sight of a creature so extraordinary could not fail to excite, in the mind of a philosophic observer,
the most ardent wishes for a complete examination. These were at length gratified ; Mr. Gore, one of the
associates in the expedition of Captain Cook, having been so fortunate as to shoot one in the course of a
few days.”
Such is the earliest notice to be found relative to this fine species, of which living examples were a few
years afterwards brought to Europe, and have from time to time formed an interesting addition to our
menageries. It is however remarkable, that though it has now been introduced for so long a period, all
attempts at naturalizing it have hitherto proved futile; still, from my own observations of the animal in a
state of nature, I am led to believe that a small degree of perseverance is alone requisite to effect so
desirable an object. Should I be so fortunate as to interest any who have the means, as well as the
inclination, in the furtherance of this object, we may yet hope to see our large parks and forests graced
with the presence of this highly ornamental and singular animal. That it would bear the severities of our
winters is almost beyond a doubt, since in Van Diemen’s Land, among other places, it resorts to the bleak,
wet, and frequently snow-capped summit of Mount Wellington. ‘The kind of country which appears most
suitable to its nature, consists of low grassy hills and plains, skirted by thin open forests of brushwood, to
the latter of which, especially on the continent of Australia, it resorts for shelter from the oppressive heat
of the mid-day sun. Although the numbers of this large species are becoming greatly reduced in
consequence of the intrusion of civilized man, and though it has disappeared from those localities where he
has taken up his abode, accompanied by his vast flocks and herds, still the immense tracts of sterile
unwatered country which characterize Australia, and present physical obstacles to cultivation, will, in my
opinion, for a long period afford a sufficient asylum for the preservation of the race.
The Great Grey Kangaroo enjoys a wide range of habitat, being spread over the colony of New South
Wales, South Australia, and the intervening countries ; and if the animal from Western Australia, to which
I have given the name of Macropus ocydromus, should ultimately prove to be merely a local variety, then its
range may be said to extend throughout the whole of the southern portion of the continent from east
to west.
I should not consider it, strictly speaking, a gregarious animal, as I have never seen more than six or
eight together, and have more frequently met with it singly or in pairs; and this view of its habits is
confirmed by R. C. Gunn, Esq., who states, that ‘although, from the circumstance of its food being abundant
on certain spots, as on recently burnt land, it may be seen in flocks, it is not gregarious; their food brings
them to one spot; but on no occasion have I ever known them in flocks, owning a leader and proceeding
en masse as all other wild animals do.” Yet Mr. Gilbert, speaking of the animal observed by him in
Western Australia (AZ. ocydromus, if distinct), says—‘‘ Mr. Gunn’s remarks will not at all apply to the
Kangaroos of this part of the country, for I have seen hundreds of instances in which the whole herd has
2
followed the leading one en masse, unless divided by the dogs: itis true there is no regular leader, but when
one is disturbed, the whole herd immediately take alarm, and one bounding off is the signal for the whole
to follow: when running in this way, the does soon take the lead, while the males from their greater weight
are unable to keep up with them, and often bring up the rear a long distance behind, but they all follow
in the same track as the leading does, and when the latter stop the entire herd stop also: this habit I have
noticed so frequently, that I have always considered the Kangaroo as a gregarious animal. Occasionally
an old and very large male will take possession of a valley, and there remain for years without moving a
mile from the spot, leading in fact a perfectly misanthropic life; such instances, however, are not very
common; still, two or three spots are known to me which have been thus tenanted for years, many of the
settlers and aborigines, now young men, remembering these particular animals from their childhood. Some
of the most experienced Kangaroo-hunters have endeavoured to capture them, but have invariably failed, at
the cost of much injury to their dogs: with the exception of cases like these, it is rare to meet with a
single Kangaroo.”
Mr. Gunn states that in Van Diemen’s Land the Kangaroos “lodge during the heat of the day amongst
high ferns, such as Pferis esculenta, high-grass, and in underwood, commonly called servé, that is, dense
patches of Melaleuca, Leptospermum, &c. on the margins of streams; and although almost all the forest trees
(Lucalypti) are hollow at the butt, and innumerable dead and hollow trees cover the ground, I have never
known them used as sleeping-places: the space under a dead tree is much more likely to be resorted to
for this purpose than the hollow of a living one.”
The senses of smelling and hearing are so exquisite in this animal that it is extremely difficult of approach
without detection, and to effect this it is always necessary to advance against the wind. It browses upon
various kinds of grasses, herbs and low shrubs, a kind of food which renders its flesh well-tasted and
nutritive. The early dawn and evening are the periods at which it feeds, and at which it is most certain to
be met with.
Although hunted and frequently killed by the Dingo, or native dog, its most formidable antagonist has
hitherto been the Aborigine, who employs several modes of obtaining it; sometimes stealing upon it with
the utmost caution under covert of the trees and bushes, until it is within the range of his spear, which is
generally thrown with unerring aim; at other times, having discovered their retreat, the natives unite in a
party, and, forming a large circle, gradually close in upon them with shouts and yells, by which the animals
are so terrified and confused, that they easily become victims to the bommerengs, clubs and spears which
are directed against them from all sides.
Still, however formidable an enemy the Aborigine may have been, the Great Grey Kangaroo finds, at the
present time, a far greater one in the white man, whose superior knowledge enables him to employ, for its
destruction, much more efficient weapons and assailants than those of the more simple son of nature.
Independently of the gun, he brings to his aid dogs of superior breed, and of so savage a nature, that the
timid Kangaroo has but little chance when opposed to them. These dogs, which run entirely by sight,
partake of the nature of the greyhound and deerhound, and from their great strength and fleetness are so
well adapted for the duties to which they are trained, that its escape, when this occurs, is owing to peculiar
and favourable circumstances, as, for example, the oppressive heat of the day, or the nature of the ground ;
the former incapacitating the dogs for a severe chase, and the hard ridges which the Kangaroo invariably
endeavours to gain giving him a great advantage over his pursuers. On such grounds the females in
particular will frequently outstrip the fleetest greyhound, while, on the contrary, heavy old males, on soft
ground, are easily overtaken. Many of these fine Kangaroo-dogs are kept at the stock-stations of the inte-
rior for the sole purpose of running the Kangaroo and the Emu, the latter being killed solely for the supply
of oil which it yields, and the former for mere sport, or for food for the dogs. Although I have killed the
largest males with a single dog, it is not generally advisable to attempt this, as they possess great power,
and frequently rip up the dogs, and sometimes even cut them to the heart with a single stroke of the hind
leg. Three or four dogs are more generally laid on, one of superior fleetness to “pull” the Kangaroo,
while the others rush in upon and kill it. It sometimes adopts a singular mode of defending itself by
clasping its short powerful fore-limbs around its antagonist, leaping away with it to the nearest water-hole,
and there keeping it beneath the surface until drowned: with dogs the old males will do this whenever
they have an opportunity, and it is said that they will also attempt to do the same with man. In Van
Diemen’s Land the Macropus major forms an object of chase, and like the Deer and Fox in England, is
hunted with hounds; and twice a week, during the season, the Nimrods of this distant land may be seen,
mounted on their fleet steeds, crossing the ferry of the Derwent, at Hobart Town, on their way to the
hunting-ground, where they seldom meet without “finding.” The following particulars of the “hunt”
have been obligingly forwarded to me by the Honourable Henry Elliot, late aide-de-camp to His Ltn)
Sir John Franklin, and one of its chief patrons.
“‘T have much pleasure in telling you all I know of the Kangaroo-hunting in Van Diemen’s Land. The
hounds are kept by Mr. Gregson, and have been bred by him from foxhounds imported from England ;
and though not so fast as most hounds here now are, they are quite as fast as it is possible to ride to in
that country.
“The ‘Boomer’ is the only Kangaroo which shows good sport, for the strongest ‘Brush Kangaroo’
cannot live above twenty minutes before the hounds; but as the two kinds are always found in perfectly
different situations, we never were at a loss to find a Boomer, and I must say that they seldom failed to
show us good sport. We generally ‘found’ in a high cover of young wattles; but sometimes we ‘found’
3
in the open forest, and then it was really pretty to see the style in which a good Kangaroo would go away.
I recollect one day in particular, when a very fine Boomer jumped up in the very middle of the hounds, in
the ‘open’; he at first took a few high jumps with his head up, looking about him to see on which side
the coast was clearest, and then, without a moment’s hesitation, he stooped forward and shot away from the
hounds, apparently without an effort, and gave us the longest run I ever saw after a Kangaroo. He ran
fourteen miles by the map from point to point, and if he had had fair play, I have very little doubt but that
he would then have beat us; but he had taken along a tongue of land which ran into the sea, so that, on
being pressed, he was forced to try to swim across the arm of the sea, which, at the place where he took
the water, cannot have been less than two miles broad; in spite of a fresh breeze and a head sea against
him, he got fully half-way over, but he could not make head against the waves any further, and was obliged
to turn back, when, being quite exhausted, he was soon killed.
“The distance he ran, taking in the different bends in the line, cannot have been less than eighteen miles,
and he certainly swam more than two. I can give no idea of the length of time it took him to run this
distance, but it took us something more than two hours; and it was evident, from the way in which the
hounds were running, that he was a long way before us; and it was also plain that he was still fresh, as,
quite at the end of the run, he went over the top of a very high hill, which a tired Kangaroo never will
attempt to do, as dogs gain so much on them in going up-hill. His hind quarters weighed within a pound
or two of seventy pounds, which is large for the Van Diemen’s Land Kangaroo, though I have seen larger.
“We did not measure the length of the hop of this Kangaroo; but on another occasion, when the
Boomer had taken along the beach, and left his prints in the sand, the length of each jump was found to
be just fifteen feet, and as regular as if they had been stepped by a serjeant. When a Boomer is pressed, he
is very apt to take to the water, and then it requires several good dogs to kill him ; for he stands waiting
for them, and as soon as they swim up to the attack, he takes hold of them with his fore-feet, and holds them
under water. The buck is altogether very bold, and will generally make a stout resistance ; for if he cannot
get to the water, he will place his back against a tree, so that he cannot be attacked from behind, and then
the best dog will find in him a formidable antagonist.
“The doe, on the contrary, is a very timid creature; and I have even seen one die of fear. It was ina .
place where we wished to preserve them, and as soon as we found that we were running a doe, we stopped the
hounds just at the moment they were running into her. She had not received the slightest injury, but she
lay down and died in about ten minutes. When a doe is beat she generally makes several sharp doubles, and
then gets among the branches, or close to the trunk of a fallen tree, and remains so perfectly still, that she
will allow you almost to ride over her without moving, and in this way she often escapes. A tolerably good
Kangaroo will generally give a run of from six to ten miles; but in general they do not run that distance in
a straight line, but make one large ring back to the place where they were found, though the larger ones
often go straight away.”
An extraordinary difference is observable in the size of the sexes of this species, the female being not
more than half the size of the male: she brings forth one young at a time, which, as soon as it is clothed
with hair, assumes the colouring of the adult.
A slight variation is found to exist in specimens from different localities, some being much darker than
those represented in the Plate, and others of a foxy-red. Albinoes are occasionally, but very rarely, to be
met with. As might reasonably be expected also, the fur is much thicker and more woolly in winter than
in summer.
All the fur on the upper surface uniform greyish-brown above, passing into grisly-grey on the arm and
under surface; a faint line of greyish-white above the upper lip and along the sides of the face; hands, feet,
and tip of the tail black.
Male. Female.
feet. inches. feet. inches.
Length from the nose to the extremity of the tail CES Oe Oe ee ae
rr Otecale et eee te eee ee Bere ORE ee ie Oe gee
3 ,, tarsus and toes, including the nail . 1 3 1 =
y> », arm and hand, including the nails . abe aaah cla abe | Gn eee 1024
tg ,, face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear. QR Was: 8
Meter eee cites th. Se PPA See SORE SEER eee cae: y eee oF. 5
The accompanying Plates represent a head of the male animal of the natural size, and reduced figures of
adult examples of both sexes.
Since the publication of my Monograph of the Kangaroos, in which my account of this species first
appeared, my friend Mr. G. R. Waterhouse has paid particular attention to the Marsupialia, and has
recorded his opinion in the work above referred to, that the Kangaroos described by me as distinct, under
the names of Macropus ocydromus and M. melanops, are merely local varieties of the present animal; whether
my own or Mr. Waterhouse’s view of the subject be the correct one, time and future research can alone
determine; in the meanwhile it will be as well to append my descriptions, and the information I have
received in réeference to the animals to which I have assigned the two names above mentioned. Mr. Water-
house is also of opinion that the animals in the Paris Museum, described under the name of Kangurus
and Macropus fuliginosus, will probably prove to be merely a variety of M. mayor, in which I believe he is
4
correct, for I have never seen any other examples than those mentioned, and consequently have no direct
evidence of their being distinct.
The animal from Western Australia, which I have called Macropus ocydromus, is a fine large species
closely resembling the JZ major, but differs in being of a more slender form, and in having the fur of a more
woolly texture and of a darker colour on the upper surface, particularly at the base of the ears and back
of the neck; the cheeks are destitute also of the usual white stripe.
‘This animal,” says Mr. Gilbert, “the male of which is called Yoon-gur, and the female Work, by the
aborigines of Western Australia, is tolerably abundant over the whole colony from King George’s Sound
south, to forty miles north of Moore’s River, the farthest point in that direction I have yet explored. It
does not appear to be confined to any particular description of country, being as often seen in gum-forests
among the mountains as on the open plains and clear grassy hills; but it is certainly most numerous in
the more open parts of the country, where it is not liable to surprise. In travelling along the road from
Guilford to York, from two to four or five may occasionally be met with; but farther in the interior,
particularly on the Guvangun Plains, herds of thirty or forty in number may often be seen; and still farther
north, beyond Kojenup, it is still more numerous; indeed, I have never seen, in any part of Australia, so
large a herd as I met with on the Gordon Plains in 1840; it could not, at the most moderate computation,
have comprised less than five hundred individuals; and several of my party in their astonishment con-
sidered there were even a much greater number than I have stated. The full-grown male, termed a buck
or Boomer, attains a large size, and is a most formidable opponent to many of the best dogs in the country ;
indeed, there are few dogs that will even attempt to run him; this may in some measure account for the
few recorded instances of very large ones heing killed by the hunters ; it is not that their speed enables them
to escape, for, on the contrary, their great weight incapacitates them for running fast or to any distance,
and almost any dog may overtake them; instead, therefore, of running away, the Boomer invariably
turns round and faces his pursuers, erects himself to his full height, and, if possible, supports his back
against a tree, and thus awaits the approach and rush of the dogs, endeavouring to strike them with his
powerful hind-toe or to catch them in his fore-arms, and, while holding them, to inflict dreadful and often
fatal wounds with the same weapon of offence. Old dogs, well broken in, and accustomed to keep a
Boomer at bay, never attempt to run in, but by barking keep the Kangaroo at bay until the hunter comes
up, when a blow or two on the head with a short heavy stick soon brings him down. The hunter himself,
however, often runs great hazard, for the Boomer will frequently on his approach leave the dogs and attack
him most fiercely; and it is no easy matter for him to avoid being severely cut while attempting to kill the
animal. When closely pressed, it takes to the water, and as the dogs approach, catches them in its arms
and holds them beneath the surface till drowned; but if the water be too shallow for drowning them,
it has been known to catch one dog and place him beneath its foot while courageously awaiting the approach
of a second.
“The female of the first year, before having young, and during the second year, with her first young, is
termed the ‘ flying doe,’ her speed being so great, if she obtains anything like a fair start, that she gives
the fleetest dogs a very long and severe run, and frequently succeeds in outstripping them; upon finding
herself too closely pursued, she usually attempts to evade the dogs by making a sudden leap almost at right
angles, when the dogs, being at full speed, bound past her to such a distance, that before they can recover
the track, the Kangaroo has gained so much ground that it is enabled to escape ; this stratagem, however,
often accelerates its death, for, in turning off so suddenly, its whole weight is thrown upon one limb, which
being broken by the pressure, the animal falls to the ground and becomes an easy prey. Even the large
bucks are often taken in this way, and, in their fright and anxiety to escape from the dogs, they not un-
frequently run against a tree or stump with such violence as to be killed on the spot. It would scarcely be
supposed by any one who has only seen this animal in confinement, where it appears so quiet and harmless,
that it can be excited to rage and ferocity, yet such is the case in a state of nature; for upon finding itself
without a chance of escape, it summons up all its dormant energies for a last struggle, and would doubtless
often come off victor if it had dogs alone to contend with; but the moment it observes the approach of
man, it seems intuitively to know that its most formidable opponent is before it; its lips are then twisted
and contracted, its eyes become brilliant, and almost start from their sockets with rage, its ears are in
constant motion, and it emits a peculiar, low, smothered grunt, half hiss or hard breathing-like sound; in
fact, when man approaches, it seems altogether to forget the dogs, and regardless of the consequences of
withdrawing its attention from them to him, soon loses its former advantage, and the dogs being enabled to
obtain a secure hold, soon bring it down.
“The individuals inhabiting the forests are invariably much darker, and have a somewhat thicker coat,
than those frequenting the plains. The young at first are of a very light fawn colour, which deepens in
tint until they are two years old; after that age it gradually fades until, in the old males, it becomes of
a very light grey. In summer their coat assumes a light and hairy character, while in winter it approaches
more nearly to the texture of wool. It is very common to find them with white marks, or spots of white
about the head, more particularly a white spot between the eyes or on the forehead. On one occasion
I met with a very curiously marked individual, having the whole of the throat, cheeks, and the upper part
of the head spotted with yellowish-white; and perfect albinoes have been observed by the hunters. The
largest and heaviest Kangaroo I have been able to obtain any authentic account of, was killed at the
Murray; it weighed 160 lbs.”
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MACROPUS OCYDROMUS, Goud.
West-Australian Great Kangaroo.
Heaps or A Mare anp A FEMALE, LIFE-SIZE.
Ir the letterpress annexed to the succeeding Plate, containing reduced figures of this species,
be referred to, sufficient reasons will be found for figuring life-sized heads of the two
sexes of the West-Australian Kangaroo. On comparing Macropus major and M. Ocydromus,
it will be seen that a very considerable difference exists between the two animals—the deep
vinous colouring of the entire body, deep brown hue of the nose, and the black mark at the
base of the ears, which are peculiar to the latter, bemg very striking, and rendering it con-
spicuously distinct from its near ally: the opinion that they are really different species is
moreover strengthened by the circumstance of the one being an imhabitant of the western,
and the other of the eastern parts of the great continent of Australia; and from what we
have seen in so many other instances of representative species, we might naturally expect
this would be the case.
For a more detailed account of the Macropus Ocydromus, the reader is referred to the
pages given with the entire figures of the animal.
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MACROPUS OCYDROMUS, Goud.
West-Australian Great Kangaroo.
Macropus ocydromus, Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. x. p. 1.—Gray, List of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll.
Brit. Mus., p. 86.
Yoon-gur, the male: Work, the female: of the Aborigines of Western Australia.
Since my account of the Great Grey Kangaroo (Macropus major) was printed, some additional examples
of the West-Australian animal, to which I had assigned the specific term ocydromus, have reached this
country ; a careful and accurate comparison of which induces the belief that my original opinion of its being
a distinct species is really correct, and that I was quite right in conferring upon it a distinctive appellation.
A very young individual which I now possess has not only a thicker and more woolly fur than the young
of Macropus major, but has a much more vinaceous colour pervading the whole of the body; and I find
that this peculiar woolly texture as well as the colour are retained to the extreme adult age, and that the
cheeks are of a nearly uniform vinous brown, while the cheeks of MZ. major are brown with a stripe of white.
The bases of the ears in ocydromus are of a rich hair-brown for the extent of about an inch, when that
colour abruptly terminates, and the remainder of the outside of the ear is white; the interior is also white,
and has the basal portion thickly clothed with long white hairs,—a style of colouring, so far as regards the
outer part of the ears, which is never found in specimens of the true Macropus major ; there is also a
lesser amount of white about the under surface of the body of ocydromus than in that of major, the vinous
tint pervading the lower part of the chest and a great part of the abdomen.
That a great similarity exists in the anatomy of the two animals there can be no doubt; but the same
may be said with regard to many other quadrupeds and birds which are considered distinct species. It
must be recollected that the Western and Eastern Australian species, both of quadrupeds and birds, differ
in almost every instance, and that but few cases occur of a species ranging across the entire continent—an
extent of three thousand miles, more or less. Time, and a greater acquaintance with the mammals of
Australia, will be necessary before we can say with certainty over what portion of the country this species
may range.
Upon looking over my MSS. of West-Australian animals, I find a note from the pen of the late Mr. Gilbert,
from which I learn that not only had he observed the difference in the colouring of the animals there
found, but he had noticed that a still darker one inhabits the brushes, and that this darker-coloured
animal has a more woolly coat. This may be the same as the animal I have called AMacropus metanops,
and is probably distinct from both the others, although I have placed that name as a synonym of MZ. major.
The following is Mr. Gilbert’s note above referred to :—
“© Macropus.ocydromus.—Y ou will receive herewith a very large male and two mature females, from dif-
ferent localities ; the two latter showing the extremes of the dark and light variations of colouring. The
largest Kangaroo yet killed in the colony (the weight of which is well authenticated) was shot on the
Canning by Mr. Phillips, the Resident at King George’s Sound ; it was ascertained to weigh 180 lbs., its
unusual size having induced that gentleman to weigh it before any part was removed.”
The male has the face and forehead dull cinnamon-brown, becoming darker over the nose and forehead ;
cheeks without a white stripe; upper lip and chin beset with a number of long and short fine black hairs,
those on the edge of the upper lip being rigid; base of the ears and occiput dark vinous brown, the
remainder of the ears clothed externally with short grizzled hairs, the tips of which are white, and the base
brown, offering a strong contrast to the dark colouring of the lower part of the ear; internally the ears are
clothed with long white hairs; the vinous brown colouring of the occiput is continued down the back of
the neck and over the middle of the back, becoming lighter towards the tail; throat, fore part of the neck,
and chest brownish white; sides of the body, flanks, and under surface dull cinnamon-brown; arms and
hands grizzled brown, externally becoming lighter on the inner surface and darker towards the extremities ;
thighs, legs, and feet similar; a deep vinous brown mark extends along the ridge of the tail, gradually
passing into black at the tip, the remainder of the tail cinnamon-brown.
The female is similar in colour, but lighter in every part.
The accompanying Plates represent the heads of an adult male and female of the size of life, and reduced
figures of the entire animals.
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MACROPUS FULIGINOSUS.
Sooty Kangaroo.
Kangurus fuliginosus, Desm. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii. p. 35. pl. E. 22 CK. géant).—Ib. Ency. Méth.
Mamm., part i. p. 263.
Kangurou géant, F. Cuv. et Geoff. Hist. Nat. des Mamm., fasc. 2.—F. Cuv. Dict. Sci. Nat., tom. xxiv. p. 347.
Macropus fuliginosus, Less. Man. de Mamm., p. 225.—Gould, Mon. of Macrop., pl. .—Waterh. in Jard. Nat.
Lib. Marsupialia, p. 200.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 88.—Waterh. Nat. Hist. of
Mamm.,vol. 1. p. 73.
Auruoueu I have mentioned, in my account of Macropus major, the probability that the animal to which the
name of M. fuliginosus has been assigned is merely a variety of that species, I have thought it advisable to
give reduced figures from the original specimens in the Paris and Leyden Museums, because these specimens
differ considerably in the colouring of their fur from the ordinary examples of M. major, and because I
believe the animal is no longer to be found on Kangaroo Island, where, according to Desmarest, the speci-
mens above referred to were procured. The peculiar dull red colouring they exhibit may or may not be
due to some unusual mode of preparing the skin before mounting ; but one thing is certain: whatever may
have been the original colouring of their fur, the term fwig?nosus is now by no means descriptive of it; in all
probability the change is due to the long exposure to light and dust to which they have been subjected,—an
agency which has not only had a deleterious effect upon the specimens in question, but upon all those I
brought from Australia. To become acquainted with the natural colouring of the various species of
Kangaroo, it is positively necessary to observe them in their native country, where the newly-killed animals
present colours which no art on the part of the Taxidermist or care on the part of Museum curators has the
power of preserving, and to give a faithful portraiture of which, coloured drawings should then and there be
made. I see the necessity of this more and more, whenever I look at specimens in our museums, from all
of which the colours have more or less faded, until a general sameness of tint pervades the whole.
Fur of the body rather long and inclining tu a woolly texture; general colour rusty yellowish brown,
darker and inclining to sooty on the shoulders and centre of the back ; hairs of the throat, back and
abdomen grisly ; sides of the face and muzzle uniform, and of the same colour as the body ; inner surface
of the ear furnished with long white hairs ; external surface blackish brown; toes and apical half of the
tail blackish brown.
Male. Female.
feet. inches. feet. inches.
Length from the nose to the extremity of the tall . . . . 7 Sa gt
Pe Ole bne alle cnt Ss caer ge ee ae ey Paar eat ke ee Gus eck 9
- ee otancusrance cOcsu witout, pestis ete cemrne | 0 gL
os LO Ape alieal SA ak Mone han Feces ala a evar a aS 4b... 34
- PEC ACT t anise: owe aia a ppm eee eas aie ee OBL ee 7
The Plate represents both sexes, necessarily greatly reduced.
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OSPHRANTER RUFUS.
Great Red Kangaroo.
Heap or A MALE, LIFE-SIZE.
I reGRET very much to say that the time may not be far distant when an opportunity
of giving a full-sized drawing of the head of this noble animal, taken from life, will not be
possible. The larger and more conspicuous productions of an island are often, as a
natural consequence, the first that become extirpated; and this result takes place more
speedily where no protection is afforded to them. Short-sighted indeed are the Anglo-
Australians, or they would long ere this have made laws for the preservation of their highly
singular, and in many instances noble, indigenous animals; and doubly short-sighted are they
for wishing to introduce into Australia the productions of other climes, whose forms and
nature are not adapted to that country. Let me then urge them to bestir themselves, ere
it be too late, to establish laws for the preservation of the large Kangaroos, the Emeu, and
other conspicuous indigenous animals: without some such protection, the remnant that 1s
left will soon disappear, to be followed by unavailing regret for the apathy with which
they had been previously regarded. I make no apology, therefore, for publishing a life-sized
head of the Great Red Kangaroo of the plains, a detailed history of which will be found
accompanying the reduced figures.
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OSPHRANTER RUFUS.
Great Red Kangaroo.
Kangurus rufus, Desm. Mamm. Supp., p. 541.—Gray, in Griff. Anim. Kingd., vol. v. p. 202.
laniger, Gaim. Bull. des Sci. par la Soc. Philom., année 1822, p. 138.—Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de
lUranie, p. 65. pl. 9.
Macropus lanigerus, Gray, in Griff. Anim. Kingd., vol. iii. p. 49. pl. opposite p. 48.
laniger, G. Benn. Cat. of Australian Museum, Sydney, p. 6. no. 28.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide.
—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 88.
(Halmaturus) rufus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol]. 1. p. 104.
Nor only is this species the most beautiful member of the family to which it belongs, but it may also be
regarded as the finest of the indigenous Mammals of Australia yet discovered ; its large size, great elegance
of form, and rich and conspicuous colouring all tending to warrant such an opmion. A splendid male,
which in health and colour fully equals any examples I have personally observed in their native wilds, is
now (1853) living in the Gardens of the Zoological Society in the Regent’s Park, and, although it has not
yet attained the stature of a fully adult animal, forms an object of great attraction to the visitors, and
particularly to those naturalists who take an interest in the singular Mammals of Australia. This fine
example is the first that I have seen alive in Europe ; and it will be much to be regretted if a female cannot
be procured, for in all probability the success which has attended the introduction of the Common
Kangaroo and other members of the family would also wait upon the domestication of this noble animal,
and ultimately lead to the perpetuation of its race in Europe; an object of the highest importance, since
from the limited extent of its native habitat, daily encroached upon by civilized man, and the wanton manner
in which it is unrelentingly killed, it is constantly becoming more and more scarce in the open plains and
low grassy hills of its native land. The kind of country it frequents being of the utmost value to the pastoral
portion of the Australian community, it is diligently sought for and occupied as soon as found, for
depasturing their immense flocks and herds, in the stockmen and keepers of which, aided by their fleet,
powerful, and well-trained dogs, the Red Kangaroo finds an enemy which at once drives it from all newly
occupied districts, and which will ultimately lead to its entire extirpation, unless some law be enacted for its
preservation; and to this point I would direct the attention of the present enlightened Governor and
Assembly of New South Wales, who surely will not hesitate to make some provision for the protection of
this noble animal, as well as for some other fine species of the family still inhabiting that Colony ; in fact, if
this be not done, a few years will see them expunged from the Fauna of Australia.
The range of the Great Red Kangaroo, so far as it is yet known, extends over the plains of the interior
of the Colonies of New South Wales, Port Philip, and South Australia; I have never seen a specimen from
the country to the westward of the latter colony, or from the northward of the latitude of Moreton Bay ;
the plains bordering the rivers Gwydyr, Namoi, Morumbidgee, Darling and Murray, and the grassy hills of
South Australia, particularly those to the northward of Adelaide, are the districts over which it formerly
ranged in abundance, and in which, notwithstanding the persecution to which it has been subjected, it may
still be found, though in much smaller numbers. It does not so strictly affect the rich grassy plains as the
Common Kangaroo (Macropus major), but evinces a greater partiality for the sides of the low stony hills
and patches of hard ground clothed with box, intersecting those alluvial flats. In this part of its economy,
as well as in the structure of its hinder feet, the greater length of its arms, the comparative nakedness of
its muzzle, and in the much smaller size of the female compared with the females of the true Macropi, and in
the difference in the colouring of the sexes, it is most-intimately allied to the Great Rock Walleroos, to which
I have given the generic name of Osphranter, and hence I have been induced to associate it with the
members of that genus, and to call it Osphranter rufus, which latter or specific name has the priority over
that of deniger assigned to it by M. Gaimard, and under which it appears in my ‘“‘ Monograph of the Macro-
podide.” It is to be regretted that the colouring of the fur of this fine animal cannot by any means be
preserved after death if exposed to light; nothing can be more different than its colour on the living
animal and that of the mounted specimens in the National Museum, which were procured by myself while
in Australia; so great in fact is the difference, that they might readily be mistaken for two different animals.
The beautiful pink hue of the throat and chest appears to be due to some peculiar exudation from the skin
rather than to the colouring of the hair itself; for if those parts be rubbed with a white handkerchief, a pinky
pollen-like substance will be found adhering to it: this tint is deeper at some seasons than at others, and is
probably developed under some particular condition of the animal.
The female is still more gracefully and elegantly formed than the male, and has a very different style of
colouring, delicate blue being the prevailing tint in those parts which in the male are red, whence the colonial
names for the two sexes of Red Buck and Blue Doe; the female has also been called the Flying Doe, from
her extraordinary fleetness, which is in fact so great, that I have no hesitation in saying that on hard ground
and under favourable circumstances she would outstrip the fastest dogs. Occasionally both sexes are run
successfully, either from the chase being over soft inuddy soil, or from the female being encumbered with a
large and heavy young one, which she has not been able to eject from the pouch, as she always will do if
possible when hardly pressed ; the female specimen in the British Museum above alluded to was procured
under these circumstances. Observing a pair sheltering from the heat of the sun under a small group of
Myalls (Acacia pendula) on the plains near the Namoi, I succeeded in leading a fine dog to within seventy
yards without being perceived ; the dog was so quickly at the heels of the female, which was carrying a
large young one, that her escape was impossible: the male in the British Museum was also secured by a
single dog, which, after a short chase, “ pulled” and kept him at bay until I came up and despatched him,
after a fearful resistance. It weighed above two hundred pounds, and was killed while I was making a
forced march between the River Murray and the City of Adelaide, at a time when our provisions were
exhausted, and I can therefore speak with a lasting recollection of its flesh, which supported me and my
party for four days.
The male has the head, all the upper surface and flanks rich orange-red ; a wash of grey on the outer
side of the thigh ; sides of the muzzle as far as the angle of the mouth and the chin white ; intermingled
with the white of the muzzle some interrupted rows of black hairs; ears white at the base, the remainder
greyish brown, fringed with white; throat and chest delicate pink, deeper at some seasons than at others ;
arms and legs tawny white; hands and toes blackish brown; under surface of the body and tail white,
tinged with tawny.
The female is blue-grey where the male is red, but has a wash of red on the sides of the body and the
haunches tinged with vinous; has a broad white mark. extending from the angle of the mouth under the
eye, and the under surface of the body and the limbs pure white.
In the young animal the upper surface is nearly of a uniform blue-grey.
As a reduced figure can give but a faint idea of the size of this fine animal, I give the measurements of
the male killed near the Namoi.
Total length from the nose to the end of the tail eight feet two inches ; of the tail three feet ; of the arm,
hand and nails eighteen inches and a half; of the tarsi, toes and nail fourteen inches ; of the face from
the tip of the nose to the base of the ear eight inches; of the ear five inches and a half.
The drawing of the head, taken by Mr. Richter from the animal in the Gardens of the Zoological Society,
is about two-thirds of the fully adult size.
, Gould.
US
OSPHRANTER ANTILOPIN
Hullrwandel & Woltorv, Imp.
JGodd andl CRichter, de. & lth,
OSPHRANTER ANTILOPINUS, Gouwid.
Red Wallaroo.
Heap or a MALE, LIFE-SIZE, AND OF A FEMALE, REDUCED.
Tue Red Wallaroo, of the Cobourg Peninsula, a noble species, second only in colour and
structure to the Osphranter rufus, must for ever form a conspicuous object among the indi-
genous quadrupeds of Australia. Its bare muffile at once indicates it to be a less browzing
animal than the Macropus major; while the structure of its feet and toes equally indicate
that stony and rocky districts are the situations in which it is destined to dwell. Much
disparity occurs in the size of the sexes, the female bemg very much smaller than the male ;
the accompanying illustration, however, does not portray the head of the female so large
as it really is; on the other hand, the head of the adult male is the size of life. Fierce,
bold, and even dangerous is this powerful animal. Its native rocks afford it partial pro-
tection; but it is one of the species which will soon be extirpated when Northern Australia
becomes peopled by miners or stockholders.
The following Plate gives reduced figures of this fine species, and the accompanying letter-
press a detailed account of its history and economy.
hy
a ea
OSPHRANTER ANTILOPINUS, Goud.
Red Wallaroo. |
Osphranter Antilopinus, Gould in Proce. of Zool. Soc., Part ix. p. 80.—Ib. Mon. of Macrop., pl. .—Gray, List
of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 91.
Macropus (Halmaturus) Antilopinus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 95.
Mar-ra-a-woke of the Aborigines of Port Essington.
From the period at which Australia was first visited by our enterprising navigators to the present time, our
knowledge of its natural productions has been almost entirely confined to those of the narrow and limited
tract of land bordering its eastern and southern shores ; and it may fairly be said, that the whole of the
zoology of the vast range of country washed by the seas of Torres’ Straits is as much or more unknown than
that of any similar extent of country in the world. In exemplification of what I have here asserted of
our ignorance of the productions of that region, I may mention that the noble Kangaroo here figured is only
one of many new and interesting animals I have lately received from these parts. It is very abundant on
the Cobourg Peninsula, and I have no doubt that, when the country towards the interior is explored, it will
there be found in great numbers.
Two very fine specimens, from which my figures and dimensions are taken, were collected by Mr. Gilbert
while at Port Essington, and these in all probability are the only perfect specimens in Europe: the weight
of the male was about one hundred and twenty pounds. Captain Chambers, however, late of H.M.S. Pelorus,
has placed at my disposal, for the purpose of comparison, &c., several imperfect skins of this species, which
clearly indicate that the animal frequently attains a much larger size; and that gentleman also assured me
that he has himself seen examples weighing one hundred and seventy pounds; few species therefore exceed
it in size, and certainly, with the exception of Macropus laniger, none in the richness of its colour and
markings. Captain Chambers further informed me, that when hard pressed in the chase it becomes
exceedingly fierce and bold, and while among the rocks a most dangerous animal to encounter, one of his
finest dogs being tumbled over a precipice and killed by an old male: in this fierceness of disposition it
exhibits a striking resemblance to the Black Wallaroo; they also closely assimilate in the diminutive size of
their females.
Although fifteen years have elapsed since the above remarks were published in my monograph of the
Kangaroos, no additional information or examples have been transmitted to this country. As I have given
life-sized drawings of the heads of the other large Kangaroos, I have thought it necessary, for the sake of
uniformity, to give a similar illustration of this noble species, of which specimens are to be seen in_the
National Collection.
The male has the fur of the body rigid and adpressed ; general colour rusty red, becoming paler on the
face and shoulders, and white or yellowish white on the throat, chest, abdomen and inside of the limbs ;
hands and feet dark reddish brown, passing into black on the toes ; tip of the tail reddish brown.
The female has the fur less rigid and more loose than the male; general colour reddish sandy brown,
passing into vinous grey on the shoulders, back of the neck and face; base of the ear externally dark
brownish grey, passing into yellowish white towards the tips; immediately in front of the ear a conspicuous
patch of yellowish buff; a light buff mark also extends from beneath the eye along the upper lip; throat,
chest, abdomen and inside of the limbs pale yellowish white; hands and feet dark brown, becoming black
towards the nails.
Male. Female.
feet. inches. feet. inches.
Length from the nose to the extremity of the tail Whe sae 3 5 6
Se a O IMU AIL Men ra ep tne rari, acy) ge oe ys ae ao BLP War vite, Deer a. O 23
%5 », tarsus and toes, including the nail . I 1 ll
e »» arm and hand, including the nails So ones eel DR 11
= », face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . . (i ie a 6
De ep IE 3c TG ca) oD as cc ain lic ea OS an ea At 3t
The first Plate represents the head of the male of the natural size; the second contains reduced figures
of both sexes.
re
IROBUSTUS , Could.
OSPHIRANTEFR
Hullmandel £ Walter, [rp
TGoutd and HC Richter, del. & lithr.
OSPHRANTER ROBUSTUS, Gouwid.
| Black Wallaroo.
Heap or a MALE AnD or A FEMALE, LIFE-SIZE.
Ir there be any one of the Great Kangaroos the discovery of which afforded me more —
pleasure than another during my sojourn in Australia, it is the Great Black Wallaroo of
the mountain-districts of New South Wales. Surprising, indeed, it was that so large and
conspicuous an animal had not been previously made known; and still more surprising is
the fact that, from the period of my visit in 1838-389 to the present time, 1863, few if
any skins of the animal have been sent to Europe. Still I can assure my readers that
the existence of the Black Wallaroo is not a myth; for specimens of both sexes grace the
collections at the British Museum and at Leyden. Like the O. antilopinus, the O. robustus
becomes dangerous both to man and dogs when the rocky and sterile mountain elevations
it frequents are traversed; for, like the Ibex of the mountain-ranges of the northern
hemisphere, the old males will make a determined stand when assaulted and escape is
impossible.
As is the case with the sexes of all the other members of this section of the Macropo-
dide, the male and female of O. robustus differ considerably in size, the latter bemg much
smaller and weaker than the former. |
As the districts inhabited by this fine species are fully described in the succeeding pages,
it is unnecessary to mention them here. 3
A glance at the accompanying illustration, which represents a head of each sex of the
size of life, will furnish a just conception of the features of these animals.
Up age ae
serie
Rone
NAY Rell A
nang neh
OSPHRANTER ROBUSTUS, Goud.
Black Wallaroo.
Macropus (Petrogale) robustus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part viii. p. 92.
Osphranter robustus, Gould, Mon. of Macrop., pl. .—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 91.
Macropus robustus, Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 241.
Macropus (Halmaturus) robustus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 100.
Black Wallaroo of the Colonists.
Sivce my return from Australia in 1840, I have in vain requested my numerous friends and correspondents
to procure and transmit examples of this large and truly fine animal. I believe I was the first scientific
man who visited the locality in which it dwells, as well as the first who made it known to science; and I
may ask, is it not surprising that during the interval of fifteen years which has elapsed since the account of
this species was published in my ‘“‘ Monograph of the Kangaroos,” no examples besides those I myself
brought home should have been procured, and that no attempts to secure living examples of so conspicuous
an animal should have been attempted? Indeed, were it not for my visit to its native haunts, it might have
remained unknown to us even to the present time. This is the more to be wondered at, since the animal is
found within the colony of New South Wales. Surely the exterminating hand of civilized man, so fatal to
the animal productions of a new country, cannot have dealt out destruction so unsparingly as to have
destroyed the entire race.
The following account of this species appeared in my Monograph of the group, and I regret that I have
nothing to add to it.
The Black Wallaroo inhabits the summits of sterile and rocky mountains, seldom descending to the
coverts of their sides, and never to their base ; few, therefore, have had an opportunity of observing it in a
state of nature ; indeed there are thousands of persons in Australia who are not even aware of its existence.
Although the south-eastern portion of the continent is, I believe, the only part of the country in which it has
yet been observed, in all probability it has an extensive range northwards. It is tolerably abundant on the
Liverpool Range, and I ascertained that it inhabited many of those hills that branch off on either side of this
great mountain-chain, towards the interior as well as towards the coast. Its retreats are so well chosen
among the crags and overhanging ledges of rocks, that it is nearly useless to attempt its capture with dogs.
It is a formidable and even dangerous animal to approach, for if so closely pressed that it has no other
chance of escape, it will rush at and force the invader over the edge of the rocks, as the Ibex is said to do
under similar circumstances. Independently of its great muscular power, this animal is rendered still more
formidable by the manner in which it makes use of its teeth, biting its antagonist with great severity.
The Black Wallaroo may be regarded as a gregarious animal, four, six, and even more being frequently
seen in company. On one of the mountains near Turi, to the eastward of the Liverpool Plains, it was very
numerous; and from the nature of this and the other localities in which I observed it, it must possess the
power of existing for long periods without water, that element being rarely to be met with in such situations.
The summits of the hills to which this species resorts soon become intersected by numerous roads and
well-trodden tracks, caused by its repeatedly traversing from one part to the other; its food consists of
grasses and the shoots and leaves of the low scrubby trees which clothe the hills it frequents.
Although much shorter in stature, and consequently less elegant in form, the fully adult male of this
species equals in weight the largest specimens of Aacropus major ; and so remarkable is the difference in the
colour and size of the sexes, that, had I not seen them together in a state of nature, I should have considered
them to be different species, the black and powerful male offering so great a contrast to the small and
delicate female.
The male has the fur harsh and somewhat shaggy; general colour slate-grey, obscurely washed with
brownish, and tinted with vinous on the outer sides of the thighs; feet dark brown, gradually passing into
black on the fore part; upper part of the arm brownish; hands and wrists black ; inner surface of the ear
white, the exterior brown ; muzzle and a patch on the chin blackish ; a line round the angle of the mouth
and the lower lip white; throat and fore part of the neck white, the hairs being grey at the base; under
surface like the upper, but paler ; tail blackish brown above, paler beneath.
The female has the general colour silvery grey, obscurely tinted with purplish or vinous on the back ;
under surface nearly white ; cheeks hoary, with a blackish patch on the chin; tail dirty white, slightly tinged
with brown on the upper side; legs paler than the body; hands brown, becoming nearly black on the
fingers ; toes brownish black above.
Male. Female.
feet. inches. feet. inches.
Ikeneth from themose to the extremityromthertall ge 2807, 0° 2 a0
co eh TORRE Hail nue ab Die, ieee, CR am ae PONE
Bt » starsusvand toes,amcludmpethe mail Se ee ee al Ort Phere feri0:
Bes 5» arm and hand, including the nails. ... . . . . VSS e os ee gi
ie » face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . 8 7
5 hist IKE CUIG leita aaeae ely landed eesti Sa cea eel MeL” adie Dla Se ae ee ee 3
The accompanying Plates represent the head of the male of the natural size, and whole but greatly
reduced figures of both sexes.
ie
OSPHRANTER? PARRYI.
wd and HC Richter, del a bith
Aullmandel & Walton, Imp.
Och
Jb
OSPHRANTER?P PARRYI.
Parry’s Wallaroo.
LirE-sizEp Hrap anp Forr-ARMS OF BOTH SEXES.
Ir this be the least of the Wallaroos, it is one of the most elegant and chastely coloured
species yet discovered. The rocky districts of the eastern portion of New South Wales
are its true, and probably its restricted habitat; there it dwells among the precipitous
rocks and sterile crowns of the mountains, feeding upon the vegetation peculiar to such
situations. In most instances the Osphranters differ considerably in the colouring of the
male and female, but in the O. Parryi this feature is less conspicuous than in its congeners.
The more diminutive size of this species enables me to figure not only the head, but also
a considerable portion of the fore quarters, of the size of life. On reference to the Plate,
it will be seen that, as with the other members of the genus, there is much difference im
the size of the sexes. Its muzzle, like that of O. rufus, is more hairy than that of O. robustus
or O. antilopinus. .
Like some of the larger Kangaroos, this fine animal requires protection, otherwise it will
be speedily extirpated; its extreme agility among the rocks, and the sterile nature of the
districts it frequents, will, however, tend somewhat to its preservation.
For a history of the species the reader is referred to the succeeding page.
pei
Riceah Ore Nth
Se aa
Ay
uN
‘
‘
Lid, UCHOY p PRUPMP YT « YY 22 TEP SYR DH LLP PROD?
aeinicaio
- OSPHRANTER? PARRYI.
Parry’ss Wallaroo.
Macropus Parryi, Bennett in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part II. p. 151.—Ib. Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. i. p. 295. pl. 37.
Macropus (Halmaturus) Parry:, Waterh. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 206. pl. 18.—Ib. Nat. Hist. of Mamm, vol. i,
p- 113.
Halmaturus Parryii, Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, Part I1.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 89.
Macropus elegans, Lambert, Trans. of Linn. Soc., vol. vii. p. 318. pl. 16 ?
Tur known range -of this fine species extends along the east coast from Port Stephens to Wide Bay, a
newly opened district to the northward of Moreton Bay. Mr. Strange informs me that it inhabits the rocky
ranges of the Clarence, occasionally descending into the more open broken country, where it frequents the
ledges of rocks at an elevation of 2000 feet; it is also met with between the open grassy hills trending
upward to the main range. So fleet is this animal, that it is only with the assistance of the finest dogs that
there is any chance of procuring examples ; it surpasses in fact every other animal in speed, and when
fairly on the swing no dog can catch it. Their general contour, short and stout hind limbs and short blunt
nails are all in accordance with their habit of frequenting rocks. Like most other members of its race, it is
easily tamed, readily becoming familiar and docile.
A living specimen, presented to the Zoological Society of London by Captain Sir Edward W. Parry, R.N.,
after whom the animal has been named, “ was obtained at Stroud, near Port Stephens, in the latitude of about
30° south. It was caught by the natives, having been thrown out of its mother’s pouch when the latter was
hunted. At that time it was somewhat less than a rabbit, but was full-grown on its arrival in England. It
was never kept in confinement until it was embarked for England, but lived in the kitchen, and ran about
the house and grounds like a dog, going out every night after dark in the bush or forest to feed, and usually
returning to its friend the man-cook, in whose bed it slept, about two o’clock in the morning. Besides
what it might obtain in these excursions, it ate meat, bread, vegetables, in short everything given to it by
the cook, with whom it was extremely tame, but would allow nobody else to take liberties with it. It
expressed its anger when very closely approached by others, by a sort of half-grunting, half-hissing, very
discordant sound, which appeared to come from the throat, without altering the expression of the coun-
tenance. In the daytime it would occasionally, but not often, venture out to a considerable distance from
home, in which it would sometimes be chased back by strange dogs, especially those belonging to the
natives. From these, however, it had no difficulty in escaping, through its extreme swiftness ; and it was
curious to see it bounding up a hill and over the garden fence, until it had placed itself under the protection
of the dogs belonging to the house, especially two of the Newfoundland breed to which it was attached, and
which never failed to afford it their assistance, by sallying forth in pursuit of its adversaries.”
But little doubt exists in my mind that Lambert’s characters of his Macropus elegans were taken from an
animal of this species, although neither his figure nor his description is sufficiently correct to determine
this point with certainty.
Fur moderately long and soft; general colour silvery grey, the lower part of the back tinged with purplish ©
brown; muzzle deep brown inclining to black, gradually becoming paler on the forehead until it passes into
the grey of the upper surface; a broad pure white mark extends from near the tip of the muzzle along the
cheeks, and terminates a little beyond the posterior angle of the eye; below this a faint grey line; ears
nearly naked within, but having a few small white hairs on the apical portion; externally they are clothed
with blackish brown fur at the base, with adpressed white hairs in the middle, and with black hairs at the
tip; chin, throat, inner side of the limbs, under surface of the body and under side of the basal half of the
tail white; the tips of the hairs on the chest faintly tinged with grey; arms hoary grey; hands black ;
tarsi and two inner toes white; the other toes black at the extremity, and with a mixture of black and white
hairs at the base; tail nearly white, with the exception of the tip, which, with a fringe of long hairs on the
under surface of the extremity, are black. Male.
feet. inches.
Length from the nose to the extremity ofthe tall . . . .. . . . 5 5
53 Oita Oe ie ie eae ee 7
A pptagsuciand (ose includinenthe mail 99 94 ur 10
‘ awa and handyemcindine the mails 9 5... 2. 3 8
2 », face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear. . 51
_ 2 Cle ee eee rie eee er Se rn ery OR 35
The head and fore-arm represented in the accompanying Plate are of the natural size, while the entire
figures in the other are much reduced.
Pa
| ad ero
$253 144-6)
HATO
ATT U IR OS
Tbotld ond HC Reckter del et leith
RU FIC
OUMUIS .
Lidl tarde d Nation Lp
HALMATURUS RUFICOLLIS.
Rufous-necked Wallaby.
Heap anp ARMS OF BOTH SEXES, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
AN opinion exists among zoologists that the Halmaturus Bennett, which is exclusively
confined to Tasmania, and the H. ruficollis of the opposite portion of the Australian con-
tinent, are one and the same species, and that the difference in the colourmg of the two
animals is merely the effect of climate; the full-sized heads, then, which are given as
accessories to the reduced figures on the succeeding Plate will be of value as illustrative
of the difference in question. Certain it is, that all the specimens from the continent
(the H. ruficolis of this work and of previous authors) are much redder in colour, and
have the white of the cheeks extending further on the breast, than the H. Bennetti
procured in Tasmania. As these differences are carefully detailed on the succeeding
page, it will not be necessary to enter into them here.
The accompanying Illustration represents the head and forearms of both sexes, as near
the size of life as possible.
a ' Huy URI Ni JOOUIPLYI IL UPY 18 72Y) AILYPLEL J | PUM POU SL?
“SLEW ODT wa SUIS OL wa TAD OW AL
~~
HALMATURUS RUFICOLLIS.
Rufous-necked Wallaby.
Kangurus ruficollis, Desm. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii. p. 37.—Ib. Ency. Méth. Mammalogie, p. 274.
Kangaroo a cou roux, F. Cuv. Dict. des Sci. Nat., tom. xxiv. p. 348.
Macropus ruficollis, Less. Man. de Mamm. p. 228.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Waterh. in J ard. Nat.
Lib., Marsupialia, p. 216.
Kangurus ruficolis, Peron.
Macropus rufo-griseus, Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib., Marsupialia, p. 217.
Kangurus rufo-griseus, Desm. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii. p. 36.
Halmaturus griseo-rufus, Goldf. in Oken’s Isis, 1819, p. 267
Macropus (Halmaturus) ruficollis, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. 1. p. 125.
Warroon, of the Aborigines of the Illawarra district.
Tue low table-lands of New South Wales, particularly those on which the Daveysia scrub abounds, are the
favourite localities of this species of Halmaturus. 1 found it especially abundant on the fine estate of
Charles Throsby, Esq., at Bongbong, immediately behind Illawarra, and ascertained that it ranges westward
from thence nearly to Port Philip and eastward to Moreton Bay; it is also said to inhabit the larger islands
in Bass’s Straits. Since writing the account of this species given in my Monograph of the Kangaroos, referred
to above, numerous New South Wales specimens have been sent to me by my collectors, and many living
examples have been forwarded to this country, one of which is now (1854) living in the Menagerie of the
Zoological Society in the Regent’s Park. A careful examination of all these examples tends to strengthen
the supposition that the present animal and the Halmaturus Bennetti of Van Diemen’s Land are quite distinct ;
at the same time I cannot but admit that I am still in doubt as to whether this is the case, or if the
differences they exhibit are due to local causes; under these circumstances, I have thought it best to figure
both animals under the names by which they are respectively known, and leave the determination of these
points to future research.
The specimens contained in the great collections of the Continent, particularly those of Paris and Leyden,
are from the mainland, and not from Van Diemen’s Land, and have the names of ruficolis and rufo-griseus
attached to them,—appellations which are not applicable to the Tasmanian specimens. I have observed that
the mainland animals not only differ in colour, but are larger than those from the islands.
As is the case with most of the other species of the family, the male of the present animal much exceeds
the female both in the size of the body and in the strength of the fore-arm.
Fur moderate as to length and softness of texture; general colour rusty brown pencilled with white,
brownish grey at the base succeeded by rusty, broadly annulated with white near the extremity and black
at the point; neck, shoulders and arms bright rust-red, pencilled with white; muzzle brownish black; on
the upper lip a tolerably distinct white mark, running backward and terminating beneath the eye; apical
half of the external surface of the ear blackish, internal surface of the ear white, narrowly margined at the
tip with black; on the chin a patch of brownish black; throat whitish; under surface greyish white, the
hairs being grey at the base and white at the extremity; hand black; tarsi clothed with hairs, which are
brownish black at the base and white at the tip; toes covered with black hairs; tail hoary grey, with a
pencil of black hairs at the tip.
The accompanying Plates represent the head of each sex of the natural size, and reduced figures of the
entire animals.
Jat cues
s Fy
nis tt be
Sit, ss ane
Raat
PAE oh
+ oud: i
n au OP. ftihy
Hie doc
Uys jae? es
PE 2 spe ec Ae a a9 ;
Nie Che toh ia ap POSS tpn AERTS, ey
he bale abe erat ah attagat a
nih oun sy
]
Heh a Ris
Shee Whe pach He Tap
DGoudd ond HEC Evchter, del. et ith.
HALMATUIRG
q@
ho
DT
DL
Hi
LA
NNETTI.
Melinda & Walton, Imp.
HALMATURUS BENNETTI.
Bennett's Wallaby.
HEAD AND ForEeARM, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
TurEE species of the larger Kangaroos are indigenous to the Island of Tasmania, or Van
Diemen’s Land, viz. Macropus major, Halmaturus Bennetti, and H. Billardiert. Of these
the H. Bennetti is intermediate in size, and is the most important, since its flesh is a
staple commodity as an article of food, and its skin affords no inconsiderable profit to
the settlers, vast numbers of skins being annually sold.
The life-sized portrait of the upper portion of this animal will convey a just conception
of its physiognomy, while the reduced figures, which are drawn to scale, will show how
disproportionate in size are its hind quarters: it is these latter parts of the animal which
are eaten by all classes, from the Governor of the colony to the stockmen. The relative
weights and admeasurements of the two sexes are given on the succeeding page, to which
I must therefore refer my readers for further particulars respecting the species.
Rath
Ane
: Milf UD UY Y JapUnuYPA Yee) D2 YO LA YODET |) HE WM YynOD LP
“TL GEN NEE S_LODSLOL IL VIAL TW EL
JSS
HALMATURUS BENNETTL
Bennett's Wallaby.
Macropus Bennettii, Waterh. in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part v. p. 103.—Ib. in Jard. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 211.
ple 19;
(Halmaturus) fruticus, Ogilby, Ann. of Nat. Hist. 1838, vol. i. p. 219.
Halmaturus Ualabatus, Gray, Mag. of Nat. Hist. new ser. 1837, vol. i. p. 583.
Bennettii, Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Wagn. in Schreb. Saug. Suppl. 111, 112. Heft,
p. 115.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 89.
Macropus ruficollis, var. Bennettii, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 130.—Gunn in Proc. Roy. Soc. of Van
Diem. Land, vol. ii. p. 88.
Halmaturus leptonyx, Wagn.
Brush Kangaroo, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.
Tue native habitat of the animal here represented is Van Diemen’s Land and the larger islands in
Bass’s Straits. It would be useless to attempt an enumeration of the localities in which it may be found,
since its dispersion may be said to be general over the islands named, from the snowy summits of Mount
Wellington and the hills of lesser elevation to the forests in the lowest valleys; it evinces, however,
a decided preference to situations of a humid character, being seldom, if ever, seen on the hot and sandy
plains: the localities it affects afford it a retreat, so secure as to preclude all chance of its extermiation,
although many thousands are killed annually for the sake of its flesh, which is very generally eaten and
highly esteemed, being delicate, juicy and well-flavoured; its skin also forms a considerable article of
commerce, being largely exported from Van Diemen’s Land into England for the manufacture of the upper
parts of boots and shoes, for which it is admirably adapted, besides being extensively used for the same
purpose in the colony. I have read advertisements in the Hobart Town newspapers, stating that three
thousand skins were immediately wanted, and which were quickly supplied by the settlers, servants and
shepherds at the out-stations: the skins are generally taken off on the spot where the animal is killed,
and afterwards stretched on the ground to dry; they are then sold for about fourpence or sixpence each
to persons who visit the stock stations of the interior for the purpose of collecting them, and who retail
them again in Hobart Town or Launceston to the advertiser or others for colonial consumption or for
exportation.
The Bennett’s Wallaby is gregarious in its habits, and although truly a brush animal, does not confine
itself so strictly to localities of that description as the smaller members of the genus, but frequently resorts
to the thinly-timbered forests and the crowns of the low grassy hills, always, however, seeking security in
the thick brush when pursued, or such steep rocky acclivities as present almost insurmountable obstacles
to the pursuit with dogs. It is one of the most hardy members of its family, and would doubtless readily
become acclimatized in this country, since the temperature of Van Diemen’s Land more nearly resembles
that of the British Islands than does any other part of Australia, in proof of which I may mention that
numbers have been bred in the Menagerie of the Zoological Society, in that of the late Earl of Derby, and
others.
‘In a large piece of enclosed ground in his Lordship’s park,” says Mr. Waterhouse, “I had the pleasure
of seeing many individuals of the Brush Kangaroo in a state of comparative freedom, and where they
appeared to thrive well. When I entered the paddock in which they were kept, being all concealed beneath
some heath, I was not aware of their presence until, on approaching their place of shelter, they suddenly
elevated the fore part of their bodies and then darted off to a distant spot with great swiftness. When at
rest they frequently assume a singular position; the fore feet are applied to the ground, and they at the
same time sit upon their haunches, having the hind legs stretched forwards, and perfectly straight, as well
as the tail, which lies between them. The young animal does not finally quit the pouch of the mother until
some time after it has attained the size of a full-grown rabbit; at which time it does not differ in colouring
from the parent.”
The full-grown male varies in weight from forty to sixty pounds: the haunch and loins are the only parts
that are eaten, and these are constantly exposed for sale in Hobart ‘Town, Launceston, and other parts
of the country. The female closely resembles the male in colour, but is about one-third less in size.
Mr. Waterhouse, who gave the specific appellation of Bennetti to this animal, in honour of a late
talented Secretary of the Zoological Society, is now inclined to consider it to be merely a local variety
of the Halnaturus ruficolis of New South Wales, an animal which does not accord with it in colour, and
which is of a somewhat larger size; it will be seen that I have treated them as distinct: in either case it
becomes necessary, in order duly to illustrate the subject, to figure both.
Fur rather long and moderately soft ; general tint a very deep grey, inclining to black on the back ;
somewhat paler on the sides of the body, with a rust-like tint on the back of the neck, base of ears, the
haunches, shoulders, and in the region of the eye; under surface of the body and the inner side and fore
part of the hinder legs greyish-white ; muzzle black ; crown of the head brownish-black ; an obscure whitish
line extends backwards from the corners of the mouth, and becomes obliterated on the cheeks ; lips dirty-
white; chin blackish ; ears white internally, black externally ; hands, toes, and outer side of the heel black ;
hairs of the tail (excepting at the base, where they are of the same colours and character as those of the
body) black, broadly annulated with white near the apex ; tip of the tail black, under side of the tail white ;
the hairs on the upper part of the body are of a deep slate-colour at the base, the remaining portion of each
hair is black, annulated with white, or more generally with pale rust-colour; on the under parts of the
body the hairs are of a deep slate-colour, with the apical portion white.
The figure of the head is of the natural size; that of the entire animal is much reduced.
Cay
HALMATURUS GREYI,
Ppichter, del. et, bith.
Hullmandel & Walton. Imp.
LAE:
ula and
FO
SG
HALMATURUS GREYIJ, Gray.
Grey’s Wallaby.
Upper Haur or A Mate anp Heap or a FEMALE, OF LIFE-SIZE.
THe name of Sir George Grey must always be conspicuous in the annals of Australian
history, whether we regard this enlightened and valuable public servant as an explorer or
a ruler; and, for my own part, I am much gratified that so fine a species as the present
should have been named in honour of the present Governor of New Zealand.
The Halmaturus Greyi, if not so beautiful as the H. manicatus, is very little inferior in
this respect to that species. It will be seen that, while the forearm is as short as in
that animal, the black colouring of the fore feet is not so sharply defined, and that
on the tips of the ears this colour is wholly or nearly absent. South Australia is the
native habitat of this fine animal; it therefore inhabits that part of the country lying
between the eastern and western parts of the continent. Those who are not well versed
in the Mammals of Australia may perhaps consider the variation in the shades of colour
above mentioned insufficient to constitute a species; but I can assure them that such is
not the case. The H. Grey is further distinguished from both the H. rujficollis and H.
mancatus by having a more-lengthened-hairy or shaggy coat, by its nearly white tail, and
generally lighter colouring.
We
8
ik at Rae let alk a ee a ee aa,
SLT aD SOLVIT BL
HALMATURUS GREYI, Gray.
Grey’s Wallaby.
Halmaturus Greyti, Gray, List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 90.
Macropus (Halmaturus) Greyi, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 122.
Tus fine Wallaby was first sent to this country from South Australia by His Excellency Sir George Grey,
after whom it was named. It is a species quite distinct from every other, but is perhaps most nearly allied
to the Halmaturus manicatus, an animal inhabiting the country farther to the westward. Its powerful and
finely proportioned hinder extremities, contrasted as they are with its slender and diminutive fore-arms,
are indicative of a structure adapted for rapid movements, and, in strict accordance with this view, we find
that it is one of the most fleet and agile members of its race. Its favourite places of resort are flats near
the sea-shore, particularly low sand-hills and open grounds, where the surface is bare and unbroken, to
which is doubtless to be attributed the circumstance of its claws being more attenuated and spine-like
than those of any other species. In size the H. Grey rather exceeds the HZ. manicatus, but it is less than
HI. ruficollis and H. Bennetti.
Mr. Strange informs me that he met with this animal ‘“‘ between Lake Albert and the Glenelg. The kind
of country in which it is found consists of large open plains intersected by extensive salt lagoons and
bordered by pine ridges. On fine sunny days it is to be found in the salt-water scrub around the lagoons
and amid the long grass of the plains. I never saw anything so swift of foot as is this species: it does not
appear to hurry itself until the dogs have got pretty close, when it bounds away like an antelope, with first
a short jump and then a long one, leaving the dogs far behind it. In wet weather it confines itself to the
sand-hills. I have had twenty runs in a day with four swift dogs and not succeeded in getting one.”
The description of this animal by Mr. Waterhouse from Sir George Grey’s specimens so closely accords
with my own, that I cannot do better than give it in his own words :—
‘General colour pale ashy brown, slightly tinted with yellowish; the pale tint of the upper parts
of the body is produced by the mixture of white with pale rust-colour and black, the visible portion of
each hair exhibiting these colours; on the under parts of the body the hairs are of a pale buff-yellow
colour externally, and pale grey at the root; the head is grey above, obscurely tinted with rufous, and
this latter tint is also observable on the back of the ears, as well as on the neck; immediately behind
the naked tip, the muzzle is dusky black above, but the black hue is almost immediately blended into
the general grey tint; on the sides of the muzzle are three longitudinal bands, of which the middle one,
representing the ordinary pale cheek-mark, is pale yellow; the upper one almost black, but slightly pen-
cilled with whitish, and the lower one is somewhat suffused with brownish ; ears well clothed internally
with rich yellow hairs, but they are rather narrowly margined with black at the apex; externally, the black
extends downwards from the point for about half an inch; behind the eye is a yellowish spot; the chin and
throat are tinted with fulvous, and there is a greyish spot on the former; the chest is greyish ; below the
chest the fur has a pale rusty grey hue; the arms are grey-white at the base, and of a very pale fulvous
colour, or fulvous white beyond, and the hands are of the same colour, but the fingers are black, and the black
extends slightly beyond the base of the fingers; the hind legs and feet are coloured in the same manner ;
the thighs are somewhat greyish externally at the base, and the toes are black, with the exception of the
long hairs which cover the nails, which are brownish ; tail well clothed with hairs of a very pale grey colour,
washed as it were with yellow on the upper parts and brown-white beneath ; a considerable space at the apex
covered with long dirty yellowish hairs.”
feet. inches.
Meuspin trom the mose to the root of the tails) ao. 35 2 8
Ore Ole Ulett rat ae ee ek De cena ie a nee es OR cB
»» 5, tarsus and toes, including the nail gi
ie »» arm and hand, including the nails : 61
os » face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear 52
ee
f 5s Cale
The head and fore-arm represented in the accompanying Plate are of the natural size, while the entire
figures in the other are much reduced.
oe
a‘
e
ny
Ne
AUN ANE
9 Could.
Kd
SS
HMALMATURUS MANICATU
:
J Could and HC Richicr, del et bith.
HALMATURUS MANICATUS, Gowa.
Black-gloved Wallaby.
Heap, Neck, aNnp ForEARM OF BOTH SEXES, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
Every naturalist who has diligently worked out a monograph of any group of animals ©
must have observed that while some conspicuous feature, either of colouring or marking,
pervades all the species, it is much more strongly developed in some of them than in
others; in one, perhaps, it is only faintly indicated, while in another it is bold and
decided. Now, there is a tendency in all the Wallabys to a blackish brown or black
colouring on the hands or the tips of the ears: in some this colouring occurs on both;
in others it is confined to the hands alone. The present animal, which is a native of
Western Australia, may be cited as the species in which this character is carried to its
maximum ; for if its fore feet and the tips of its ears had been carefully dipped in ink,
they could not be of a blacker hue, nor could this colourmg terminate more abruptly.
That there is no special end or purpose for the fantastic markings of the Kangaroos and
many other animals, beyond mere ornament, I think there cannot be a doubt. Nature
revels in variety, as may be seen in the stripimgs of the various species of Zebra, the
fantastic markings of the Antelopes, the banding of the Perameles, and a thousand other
creatures. I make no apology for giving full-sized heads of this very pretty species, the
peculiarity of whose markings is not so apparent in the reduced. figures.
Re
ae
Dn CL LED
Fei pet
HALMATURUS MANICATUS, Gowda.
Black-gloved Wallaby.
Macropus (Halmaturus) manicatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 127.
Halmaturus manicatus, Ib. Mon. of Macropodide.
Macropus (Halmaturus) Irma, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 117 *.
Goorh-a, Aborigines of Perth, and
Quar-ra, Aborigines of the interior of Western Australia.
Brush and Blue Kangaroo of the Colonists of Western Australia.
Iv must, I think, be admitted, that generally a degree of elegance and beauty reigns among the indigenous
animals of Australia, and the present species may be cited as an instance in point; the size, form and
colouring of this Kangaroo presenting a combination of elegance and beauty; while its jet-black hands and
feet render it so conspicuous, that there is no other species with which it can be confounded, except its
near ally the Halmaturus Greyi, from which, however, it may at a glance be distinguished by its darker-
coloured face and nape. To what extent this pretty animal ranges over Western Australia has not been
ascertained, but we know that it is very generally diffused over every part of the colony of Swan River,
wherever sterile and scrubby districts interspersed with belts of dwarf Eucalypii exist ; from these retreats
it occasionally advances to more open grounds, to feed upon the grasses which there occur in greater
abundance than in the glades of the forest. -
Mr. Gilbert informs us that it may be ranked among the fleetest of its race; that it requires dogs of
the highest breed to capture it, and that a full-grown male weighs nearly twenty pounds. The flesh forms
an excellent viand for the table, and the skins manufactured into rugs are extensively used by those whose
avocations and mode of life lead them to spend much of their time in the bush.
The sexes are alike in colour and similarly marked about the hands and feet, but the female is always
much smaller than the male.
General colour of the upper surface of the body deep grey, produced by the admixture of black and white,
the hairs being black at the tip, and annulated with white near the tip; sides and under surface of the body
paler grey, tinted with buff-yellow; this yellow tint is almost pure on the abdomen between the hind legs,
on the feet and inner side of the ears: the upper surface of the head and muzzle are of a soot-like colour,
and the occiput and back of the ears, as well as the apical portion in front, are pure black; a yellowish
white line is observable on each side of the muzzle, commencing at the tip, and running backwards beneath
the eye; the fore half-of the hands and feet are pure black, appearing as if they had been dipped in ink or
some other black liquid, the black not blending, as usual, with the pale colour of the hind part of the feet,
but terminating in an abrupt line; the greater portion of the tail (which is well clothed with harsh hairs) is
of the same black colour ; at the base, however, it is coloured as the body; and on the upper surface, for a
considerable distance from the base, the black hairs are more or less annulated with whitish, producing a
grizzled appearance: on the chin is a small black patch.
Female.
feet. inches.
length) fromthe nese! tothe extuemityy onthe tall.) 4 2. ab 0
ae Ob. Celbele sagen sees ath Yaka ; BP ay? aoa ae rages Na 3
> 95 tarsus and toes, heane ap wall Ke Nh gta Cape pat axa ats 88
»» 9, arm and hand, including the nails eat Rarer aes 5-
»» 5, face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear 524
bye Amen MOLE ei marry ia: len nan Tinie ca MCO Retr tony ae ane Si nn Ia roe 3
In one of the accompanying Plates the head and fore-arm are represented of the natural size; while the
reduced figures represent the entire animal.
* Mr. Waterhouse considers that the Macropus Irma of M. Jourdan may be synonymous with this species, but
this is by no means certain ; for upon purposely visiting Lyons to clear up this point, I did not find the animal
in the collection of that city, and M. Jourdan informed me that his description was taken from a specimen in
the Museum at Paris, where also I could not find it.
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Thillmanda & Wadtor, imp.
VALABATDUS.
HALMATURUS
)
J Gould unk C Rechier wel. & lth.
HALMATURUS UALABATUS.
Black Wallaby.
Heap anp Fore QUARTERS, OF THE NATURAL SIZE.
Tuis huge Wallaby is an inhabitant of morasses, mangrove-swamps, and humid woods; and,
so far as I am aware, New South Wales is the only part of Australia it frequents. Its
characteristics are its black and rich rusty-red colouring, its shaggy thick coat, short. ears,
and long swinging tail. It stands quite alone among the great family of Kangaroos, there
being no other species with which it can be confounded. The weight of an old male is
about sixty pounds, while that of the female is considerably less. Its flesh is eaten both
by the natives and settlers, but, so far as I recollect, is not so palatable as that of H.
ruficollis or H. Bennettz.
Very correct reduced figures will be found on the next Plate, and a full description on
the opposite page.
oye 2s pop insite secretes
HALMATURUS UALABATUS.
Black Wallaby.
Kangurus Ualabatus, Less. et Garn. Zool. de la Coquille, tom. i. p. 161. pl. 7.
Macropus Ualabatus, Less. Man. de Mamm., p. 227.—Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 219.
Kangurus Brunu, Desm. Ency. Méth. Mamm., p. 275.
Halmaturus Lessonu, Gray, Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i. new ser. p. 583.
nemoralis, Wagn. in Schreb. Saug. Suppl., part 111-112. p. 114 (Waterhouse).
Macropus (Halmaturus) Ualabatus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 136.
Tuis well-marked species inhabits, with but few exceptions, all the thick brushes of New South Wales,
especially such as are wet or humid. I hunted it successfully at Mlawarra, on the small islands at the mouth
of the Hunter, and on the Liverpool ranges. In the former localities it was frequently found in the wettest
places, either among the high grass and other dense vegetation, or among the thick mangroves, whose roots
are washed by each succeeding tide. The islands at the mouth of the Hunter, particularly Mosquito and
Ash Islands, are not unfrequently flooded to a great extent, yet it leaps through the shallow parts with
apparent enjoyment, and even crosses the river from one island to the other. On the Liverpool range it as
strictly keeps to such parts as are most humid—often near the crowns of mountains, which are frequently
enveloped in fogs and dews. Over what extent of country this species will be found to range, it is im-
possible to say; as yet, I have only observed it in the localities above mentioned ; the dense brushes of the
Clarence, Manning, and, in fact, all the brushes from Western Port to Moreton Bay, are probably in-
habited by it.
Independently of its dark colouring, lengthened tail, and stiff wiry hair, it may be readily distinguished
from every other species by the jet-black spot immediately beneath the insertion of the arm. When full-
grown, this animal is about the size of H. Bennetiu and H. ruficolis.
Fur long, harsh to the touch; general colour blackish-brown, pencilled with a lighter hue; under surface
yellowish in some specimens, in others deep sandy- or rusty-red; ears clothed with dirty-white hairs
internally ; a rusty patch surrounds their base, and is extended on the neck; cheeks pale brown, mingled
with dirty-white ; upper part of the muzzle and round the eye blackish; lips and chin whitish; wrists and
hand black ; immediately beneath the insertion of the fore-arm a jet-black patch; tarsi black; basal third
of the tail like the body, the remainder black. )
Male.
feet. inches.
Length from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail . . . 4 4
BATON Cal V0 | Senne en ang y gee Set 0a ba SR onc caer CaN lt ota cate | ey” |
» », tarsus and toes, including the nail . 84
»» 9, arm and hand, including the nails es 62
» 9 face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear. 44
35 cals 24+
The first Plate represents the head of the animal the size of life; the second, entire figures necessarily
much reduced.
Hy
Seopne: sone
aia eee
LS, Gould.
o
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)
Vv
PURUS AGI
HAIL MA
Hidlanda & Woolton, Imp
J boule omdH (Rechte oe, & tah
HALMATURUS AGILIS, Gouia.
Agile Wallaby.
_ Heap anv Fore Parr or tue Bopy, OF THE NATURAL SIZE.
Ir will be seen that Mr. Richter has indulged in a little variation as regards the
opposite illustration; the animal, however, is faithfully portrayed, both as regards its
form and colourmg and the texture of the short adpressed hair which covers its body.
All these points are seen to much greater advantage than in the Jerboa-like reduced figures
on the next Plate: it is, indeed, impossible to do justice to the appearance of these
animals in such small representations of them.
It will be seen that the full-sized head and fore quarters are more darkly coloured than
the reduced figures ; but as such differences really exist in the various specimens, no apology
is necessary for the seeming discrepancy. The time, we may suppose, is not far distant
when the northern part of the great southern continent will be peopled by our enter-
prising settlers. That country contains the bones of my worthy assistant Gilbert, who
fell a sacrifice to the treachery of the natives, while arduously prosecuting his researches
for the advancement of science and the furtherance of the present work. It is. well
known that he was in company with the celebrated explorer Dr. Leichardt, who, in like
manner, found a resting-place in that terra meognita ; but it is still unknown in what
precise locality his fate was sealed. This country of the Kangaroos is second to none
in the sacrifice of valuable lives in the various attempts which have been made to unfold
the hidden. recesses of its treasures.
PPMOG *
HALMATURUS AGILIS, Goud.
Agile Wallaby.
Halmaturus agilis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part ix. p. $1.—Ib. Monograph of the Macropodide, pl. —
Hamb. et Jacq. Voy. au Pole Sud, pl. 19.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl.
Biwnoe, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part x. p. 58.
Macropus (Halmaturus) agilis, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 108.
Tuts species of Wallaby may be readily distinguished from every other by its short, wiry, adpressed hair,
and the almost uniform sandy-brown colour of the body; the male is also remarkable for having very
powerful incisors, and for having the outer toe much developed, whence results a deep cleft between it and
the middle one; the head is also longer and more pointed than in any other species which I have seen.
The Agile Wallaby appears to be abundant on all the low swampy lands of the northern coast of Australia.
I have seen many specimens from the Cobourg Peninsula; and it is common both near the settlement of
Port Essington and at Raffles’ Bay. I have also had others placed at my disposal for the purpose of
describing by Mr. Bynoe of H.M.S. the Beagle, which were collected on the shores of Torres Straits. It
is stated to be a most agile species, readily eluding the dogs employed in hunting it by its extreme activity
in leaping among the high grass; when chased it frequently seeks shelter in the thick beds of mangroves,
passing over the muddy flats in such a manner as almost to baffle pursuit.
In size, when full-grown, the male is nearly equal to H. Uadlabatus.
In some notes by Mr. John M‘Gillivray on the animals observed by him at Port Essington, it is stated
that a young one, very large in proportion to the size of the mother, was taken from the pouch of a female
shot by him at Barrow’s Bay, and that it did not differ in its colouring in any respect. He adds that the
species is very common at Port Essington, where it frequents the tall grass of the low grounds, especially
where the Pandanus-tree abounds, under the shelter of which it generally forms its lair. It is extremely
active in its movements, and when pursued by dogs makes for the nearest jungle or mangrove thicket.
I now believe the Halmaturus Binoé, described by me as a distinct species in the 10th Part of the
“Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,” to be merely the young of this animal, and I have
consequently placed that name among its synonyms.
Fur rather short, adpressed, and harsh to the touch; general colour sandy-yellow; the upper surface of
the head and body freely pencilled with blackish, the hairs being of this colour at the point ; chin, throat
and chest dull white; abdomen yellow, the hairs terminated with white; limbs pale sandy-yellow externally
and white on their inner side, the arms externally pencilled with blackish ; tarsi nearly white, passing into
rusty on the toes; lips whitish, and a whitish mark from the lip to beneath the eye, parallel with which is
another of a dusky hue; ears white within, externally sandy-yellow at the base and broadly margined with
black at the apex, and with a narrow black line along the inner edge; on each side of the rump an oblique
whitish line; tail sparingly clothed with nearly white hairs, except at the base, which is like the body; the
tip of the tail black.
Male.
feet. inches.
Weneth- frome the noseto: theibase or thestalle 143 4 8 eo 3
See Ontario aie eae SA itn Nnwaiaiene PY, Auer, Sees rae ie try Del TG
a See tarcnciandatoes, imclianment herman sues eyo toe. 10
prs ams ondehnanG,mcludimothesmalls fa flan we ss 9
» 9) face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear. . . 6
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The first of the accompanying Plates represents the head of a dead animal of the natural size; the second,
reduced figures of both sexes.
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HALMATURUS DORSALIS, Gray.
Black-striped Wallaby.
Heap Aanp Fore Parts, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
Tuts is one of the largest species of that section of the Halmaturi which comprises the
H. Thetidis, H. Parma, and their immediate allies,—the old males frequently measuring from
four to five feet from the nose to the end of the tail. As far as I am aware, it is con-
fined to the interior of New South Wales; certain it is that I have not seen examples
from the sea side of the ranges. Its distinguishing features are the red colouring of its
fore quarters, its large ears, long tail, and a distinct stripe of black down the nape and
back. Like many other kinds of Kangaroo, the male of this species appears to increase
in bulk for several years; and hence, in a scrub frequented by this animal, males of various
sizes may be found. The accompanying illustration of the head and forearm was taken
from the largest male I have seen. The reduced figures will give an accurate idea of
the body-colours, and the annexed letter-press all that is known respecting the species.
We
C Hullmandel Ln
10
GE
°
°
DORSALIS
IH_AJL MLA T WIRW SS
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HALMATURUS DORSALIS, Gray.
Black-striped Wallaby.
Halmaturus dorsalis, Gray in Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. i. new series, p. 583.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl.
Macropus (Halmaturus) dorsalis, Waterh. in J ard. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 230.—Ib. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i.
p. 152.
Tuts fine Wallaby, which is distinguished from all other species by the greater length of its tail, and by the
black mark which commences at the occiput and runs down the centre of the back, is an inhabitant of the
interior, and is particularly abundant in all the scrubs clothing the sides of the hills that run parallel to the
rivers Mokai and Namoi; and, although I cannot positively assert that such is the case, I have reason to
believe that it inhabits all similar situations between the above-mentioned localities and the great Murray
scrub in South Australia. I have never heard of its having been seen between the ranges and the coast, a
circumstance that may be attributed to the brush being of a totally different character, and the vegetation
more dense and humid than on the dry stony hills of the interior. Like the other members of the genus,
it is strictly gregarious, and is so numerous, that I found no difficulty in procuring as many specimens as
I pleased ; it was, however, more often shot as an article of food than for any other purpose. Its flesh
is excellent, and when the vast continent of Australia becomes more thickly inhabited, it will doubtless be
justly esteemed. The natives often resort to the haunts of this species, and commit great havoc among
them, both for the sake of their flesh as food, and for their skins as articles of clothing. They have various
modes of capturing them, sometimes making use of large nets ; at other times they are driven by dogs from
side to side of the brush, which affords the hunters abundant opportunities of spearing or killing them with
the waddy as they pass the open spots.
It is especially abundant at Brezi, to the northward of the Liverpool Plains, and I also found it extremely
numerous in the Brigaloe brush on the Lower Namoi.
The female is distinguished by her smaller size, but in the markings of the two sexes no difference exists.
The full-grown males of this species weigh from twenty to twenty-five pounds.
Fur rather harsh to the touch; general colour brown, with a rusty tinge, produced by each hair being of
a rusty-brown in the middle; upper surface and sides of the body freely pencilled with black and white; on
the back of the neck, shoulders and outer side of the arms a bright rusty-red hue prevails, and the same hue
is observable on the hinder part of the back, outer side of the hind legs (especially near the knee) and sides
of the body, but is much paler; chin, throat, and all the under parts of the body white; tail clothed with
very short, adpressed, grisly hairs, becoming longer and of a dirty-white on the under side of the apical half;
upper surface of the muzzle dusky, with a white line on each side; ears black on the outside, and white
internally; a black mark commences near the occiput and proceeds backwards; towards the tail it is
broadest, most distinct on the middle of the back, and becomes obliterated as it approaches the tail; on the
haunch a transverse white mark; hands and feet black.
Male. Female.
feet. inches. feet. inches.
Length from the nose to the extremity ofthe tail . . . . .. 4 Zi 3-10
peer OMM CONG eta Pea O Ss Pacepeisatl Vapi se Mie yaaa | P39
» 9, tarsus and toes, including the nail . 8 72
7 pvoumeancenand, including the nailses | 7) at 83 61
» 9, face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear 5 : 41
” »» €aL 3 22
The figures in one of the Plates represent the entire animals, necessarily much reduced, and a head the
size of life.
SCould ond HC Richiter del é hth.
ALALMATUOIRU SS IPAIKMLA., Could.
Hullnandd, & Walton, lop.
HALMATURUS PARMA, Gow.
Parma Wallaby.
Halmaturus Parma, Gould in Gray’s List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 91.
Macropus (Halmaturus) Parma, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 149.
Tue Halnaturus Parma is so very distinct from all the other small Halmaturt inhabiting New South Wales,
that the aborigines who hunt these animals recognize it immediately by the native term I have selected as a
specific appellation ; this remark applies more particularly to the natives of Illawarra, in which district
I myself saw it in a state of nature. In these extensive brushes it doubtless still exists, as since my
return other specimens have been sent to me from thence by the late Mr. Strange. How far its range
may extend westwardly towards Port Philip, or eastwardly in the direction of Moreton Bay, I am unable
to state.
The following note, by Mr. Waterhouse, may be quoted as confirmatory of my view of the specific value
of this animal, the original description of which I intended to publish in the ‘‘ Proceedings of the Zoological
Society of London,” but by some inadvertence omitted so to do :—
“The Parma Wallaby, I think, merits the distinction of a species. It is intermediate between the
HZ. dorsalis and the H. Derbianus, and may be distinguished from either by its deep reddish-brown colour,
and the distinct large white patch on the throat and chest; the hairs forming this patch are white to the
root, in H. Derbianus they are distinctly grey next the skin, and in H. dorsalis they are very slightly tinted
with grey at the root in the same parts; and this circumstance, combined with the general form and
superior size of H. Parma, caused me at first sight to think it might be a variety of the latter animal; I
soon perceived, however, that it differed much from H. dorsaks in the form and size of its incisor teeth,
and in the proportion of the tarsus, which is much shorter than in that species.”
The following is Mr. Waterhouse’s description of my original specimen, which now forms part of the
Collection at the British Museum :-—
‘Fur moderate, both as to length and texture ; general colour deep reddish-brown, pencilled with white,
and much pencilled with black on the back; on the sides of the body the white is less distinct, and as the
black is wanting, or nearly so, the hue is paler; the fur on these parts is of a very deep grey next the skin;
on the under parts of the body each hair of the fur has the basal half grey, and the external half whitish,
but tinted with rust-colour; on the throat and fore part of the chest, however, the hairs are uniform white ;
back of the shoulders and fore-legs brownish rust-colour ; in some specimens a narrowish longitudinal black
mark extends from near the occiput along the back of the neck; in others this mark is not apparent ; head
ashy-grey, tinted with rufous, and finely tinted with whitish; the pale cheek-mark is indistinct; chin
brownish; back of the ears clothed with hairs like those of the head, the few hairs of the inner side are
whitish ; feet brown, finely pencilled behind with very pale brown ; tail sparingly clothed, and excepting at
the base the scales very distinct ; the small, stiff, scattered hairs of the upper surface are black ; quite at the
root the tail is clothed with hairs like those of the body; on the under side the hairs are more numerous,
and of a dirty white hue.”
The accompanying Plate represents the head of the animal of the size of life.
HALMATURUS DERBIANUS, Gray.
Derby’s Wallaby.
Face anp Fore Part or aA MALE AND oF A FEMALE, OF THE NATURAL SIZE.
My figures of this animal were taken from specimens procured on Kangaroo Island, at
the entrance of Spencer’s Gulf. I mention this particularly, because I have given the name
of Halmaturus Houtmanm to an animal inhabiting the Abrolhos of Western Australia, which
Mr. Waterhouse considers may be only a variety of the present species; but this is a point
which time alone can determine. These insular animals are extremely puzzling, and con-
siderable judgment is required in ascertaining their specific value.
The Halmaturus Derbianus is somewhat allied to the H. Parma; still they are unques-
tionably distinct. They form, with H. dorsalis, a little section of the group quite different
from that constituted by H. Thetidis, H. stigmaticus, H. Billardiert, and H. brachyurus.
The H. Derbianus is very numerous in all the thick brushes of the islands on which it
has been found. It is bustling and quick in all its actions; and it is only by the aid of
dogs that it can be forced from its retreat, or to lene the numerous runs formed by
it beneath the underwood in all directions.
For the pleasing life-like representation of this species, much credit is due to Mr. Richter ;
for nothing could be more faithful.
The reader is referred to the description accompanying the reduced figures given on the
next Plate for a full account of this animal.
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HALMATURUS DERBIANUS, Gray.
Derby’s Wallaby.
Halmaturus Derbianus, Gray in Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i. new ser. p. 583.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl. —
—Gray, List of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 91.
Macropus (Halmaturus) Derbianus, Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 234, pl. 21.—Ib. Nat. Hist. of
Mamm., vol. i. p. 154.
Halmaturus Houtmanni, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., pt. xii. p. 31 ?.—Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 156 ?.
Eugen, Less. Man. de Mamm., p. 227 ?.
Emilia, Gray, List of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 90°.
Bangap, Aborigines of Perth in Western Australia.
Auruouex the name of Derdianus is retained for this small species of Halmaturus, 1 am by no means certain
that it has any claims to priority; in all probability the older name of Eugenw had reference to this animal ;
Mr. Waterhouse also is of opinion that an animal which I have called Howtmanni is merely a variety of the
same species. Before me at this moment, while writing the present article, is my type specimen of Hout-
manni from Wallaby Island, Houtmann’s Abrolhos, and two specimens of Derdzanus from Garden Island
lying about five miles off the mouth of Swan River; now the former certainly differs from the latter in being
of a darker colour, in having less rufous on the shoulders and rump, and in having stouter legs and feet ;
notwithstanding I bow to Mr. Waterhouse’s opinion, and regard them as local varieties of one and the same
species ; and I incline to do so the more readily from feeling convinced, after having for a series of years
paid considerable attention to these and other nearly allied species, that there is an animal of this family
peculiar to the scrubby islands lying off the southern and western coasts of Australia, and one only, and that
that one is the species under consideration, whatever its specific name may be. Up to the present time I
have never seen examples from the mainland, the brushes of which lying between the mountain ranges and
the coast are all tenanted by their own peculiar species, such as Thetidis, Dama, &c., whilst the Brigaloe
brush of the interior has also an animal of this section peculiar to it—the H. dorsalis. The H. Derbianus,
then, inhabits all the islands lying off the west coast, and extends round to those of the south-west as far as
Kangaroo Island in Spencer's Gulf, where it is abundant.
Like many others of the small Wallabies, the present species loves to dwell among the densest under-
wood: hence the almost impenetrable scrub of dwarf Eucalypt:, which covers nearly the whole of Kangaroo
Island, will always afford it a secure asylum, from which in all probability it will never be extirpated,—the
vegetation being too green and humid to be burnt, and the land too poor to render it worth the expense of
clearing. It is very abundant in the ravines and gullies, through which it makes innumerable runs; and
such is the dense nature of the vegetation, that nothing larger than a dog can follow it ; still it is taken by
men residing on the island in the greatest abundance, both for the sake of its skin and its flesh: they
procure it principally by snares, a simple noose placed on the outskirts of the brush; but they also shoot
it when it appears on the open glades at night.
Considerable difference exists in this, as well as in the other allied species, in the colour of the hair, which
varies very much, not only in the intensity of its hue, but also in being much redder in some specimens than
in others. ;
Fur long and moderately soft; face grizzled grey, reddish and dark brown ; on the upper lip a buffy-white
mark which extends backwarks under the eye, and blends with the general colour of the face; back of the
neck, shoulders and arms rufous; a blackish mark commences at the occiput, and continues downwards
until it becomes lost in the colouring of the back, which is grizzled black and dull white, caused by the
middle portion of each hair being dull white, and the tips black, the base of all the fur bemg deep-blue
grey; rump, base of the tail, hind legs and tarsi grizzled with rufous and black, the former colour pre-
dominating; throat, chest and all the under surface buffy white ; arms the same as the tarsi, but rather
darker; under side of the tail buff.
Male.
feet. inches.
Lenathwinomythe nose tothe extremity on the tail } 95355... . 3 1
PO etallec granny deere era eS i es ig ang | ll 1L
be tonclssand tocsemelidimerthe mail. 9. 52 | ss 6
+ Spanmeancenandmenmcdmethe walls. 29. 5.5 1... . 44
»» 9 face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . . . AL
Spy eggs CORN 2 og es Bacan! Na ae asia area ere ea Cer REA ae ce era er Une ene 24
One of the accompanying Plates represents the head and fore quarters of the natural size, the other the
entire animal much reduced.
HALMATURUS THETIDIS , # (aw & Geoff
LGould und H.C Tuchter, del.et lath Hullrandeh & Walton, Imp.
HALMATURUS THETIDIS, F Cw. et Geoff.
Pademelon Wallaby.
Heap anp Fore Parts, OF THE SIZE OF NATURE.
THE accompanying life-sized head represents the common Pademelon of the colonists,
a shy and timid creature, which bounds away on the least disturbance. It runs in the
same brushes with the H. Ualabatus and H. Parma; and every extensive district of this
kind, from Illawarra to the Clarence, was tenanted by great numbers of it at the period
of my visit to New South Wales. Its flesh is good, and is frequently eaten by the
settlers and the aborigines. Considerable difference occurs in the colouring of this animal,—
specimens obtamed in one locality having the red hue of the neck predominating over the
brown, while in those from another the contrary is the case.
The front figure represents a moderate-sized adult male, of the size of life, while the
distant figure of the female is a trifle less. A more lengthened description, and reduced
figures of the entire animal, will be found on the next Plate and page.
SS
HALMATURUS THETIDIS, F cw. § Geog.
Pademelon Wallaby.
Halmaturus Thetidis, F. Cuv. et Geoff. Mamm., tab. 56.—F. Cuv. Less. Zool. de M. Bougainville’s Journ. de la
Navig. autour du Monde de la Frigate Thetis, &c., tom. i. p. 305. pl. 37.—Gould, Mon. of Macro-
podide, pl.
nuchalis, Wagn. in Schreb. Saug. Suppl., part 111-112. p. 128 (Waterhouse).
Macropus (Halmaturus) Thetidis, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 144.
Pademelon of the colonists of New South Wales.
Or the smaller species of Wallaby inhabiting New South Wales, the present is perhaps the one best
known to the colonists, inasmuch as it is more abundant than any other. It is strictly a brush animal,
and consequently only to be found in such localities. All the brushes I have visited from Illawarra to
the Hunter, as well as those of the great range which stretches along parallel with the coast, are equally
favoured with its presence; I have also received specimens from Moreton Bay. It is not unfrequently found
running in the same locality, and even in company, with the H. Ualabatus, although the very humid parts of
the forest appear to be less suited to it than to that species.
As an article of food, few animals are so valuable, its flesh being tender and well-flavoured, and more like
that of the common Hare than that of any other European animal I can compare it with.
The sexes are precisely alike in colour, but the female is smaller than the male.
The species appears to have been first brought to Europe by the French navigators, who applied to it the
inappropriate term of Thetidis (after their vessel), which, however, it would not be right to alter. Having
seen the original specimen in Paris, which is said to have been brought from Port Jackson, I am satisfied
of its identity with my own specimens. I mention this circumstance, particularly as the name of Thetzdis
has been placed as a synonym of Eugenii, an animal brought home by Peron, and which I now believe to be
identical with A. Derbyanus.
The H. Thetidis must be classed among the smaller Halmaturz, being scarcely so large as H. Derhyanus
or H. Billarderi.
Fur rather soft; general colour deep brown; shoulders, sides and back of the neck rusty-red; ears fur-
nished internally with moderately long dirty-white hairs ; upper lip dirty-white; chin and throat white;
remainder of the under surface dirty-white; arms greyish; hands brown; tarsi and feet uniform dark
brown ; tail brownish-grey above and dirty-white beneath; on the sides of the tail the hairs are scanty, and
the scales covering the tail are very apparent.
Male.
feet. inches.
Length from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tall . . . 3 0
ba Ok fall Ay peo ny oie eee i 0
0 y barsiis and toes, mcludimesthesmallig (0. sf es 53
»» 5 arm and hand, including the nails Bil denen a 5
» 5 face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear. . 41
Veneer eaiay fy May: (Sie Rar 78, a iloat ia teal ea aie cei h altar Mcrae apelabaaalhiyig st 2
The accompanying Plates represent the head and shoulders of the size of life, and reduced figures of the
entire animal.
Iboudd and Ue Fichter, del of loth
HALMATURUS STIGMATICUS, Gowd
Mullard & Walior, trp
HALMATURUS STIGMATICUS, Gowda.
Branded Wallaby.
Heap AND ForE QUARTERS, OF THE SIZE OF NATURE.
Ir will be seen that this new species has the facial aspect of the Halmaturus Thetidis
and H. Billardieri; and it does, in fact, belong to the same section as those Brush Kan-
garoos, but, as a species, it is doubtless quite distinct. In size it exceeds both the above-
mentioned animals, and differs, in its rich red colouring, from all the other members of the
genus. At present only a single specimen has reached this country: its capture was
effected under somewhat singular circumstances, and tends to prove the probability that
other species of this great group of Marsupials will yet be discovered when the naturalist
has an opportunity of exploring the extensive forests of the north-eastern coast of Australia,
which at present is impossible, or not to be done without great risk of encountering the
treacherous aborigines.
Full details respecting this species will be found in the letter-press accompanying the
following Illustration, on a reduced scale, of the entire animal.
2 oa Py "SO ORLVNILLS SOW LWT VI
HALMATURUS STIGMATICUS, Goud.
Branded Wallaby.
Halmaturus stigmaticus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Nov. 13, 1860.
A stnexe and very fine specimen of this new Hadmaturus was obtained by Mr. John Macgillivray at Point
Cooper, on the north-east coast of Australia, in the month of June 1848; this specimen is now deposited in
the British Museum collection. I cannot refer this animal to any described species, but I observe that
it is very nearly allied to the Halmaturus Thetidis. Now it is well known that this latter animal is strictly
an inhabitant of the humid brushes of the south-eastern coast, and that it never leaves them for either the
drier hills or the adjacent plains; and the present species may be regarded as its representative on the
north-eastern coast, which is, I believe, clothed with brushes of a similar character.
The Halmaturus Thetidis and the H. stigmaticus are very similar in the smallness of their heads, the
comparative shortness of their ears, and their adpressed, short stiff fur ; but the latter differs from the former
in being of a somewhat larger size and in the more rufous colouring of its fur (particularly of that clothing
the legs), and in having a broad brand-like mark of buff on each haunch; similar marks, it is true, exist in
some other species of Kangaroo, but in none of them is it so conspicuous as in the animal under con-
sideration ; hence the specific name J have assigned to it.
In the ‘Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake,’ vol. i. p. 92, Mr. Macgillivray says :—‘ Near this place, while
tacking in-shore, a native dog was seen by Lieut. Simpson in chase of a small Kangaroo, which, on being
close pressed, plunged into the water and swam out to sea, when it was picked up by the boat, leaving its
pursuer standing on a rock, gazing wistfully at its intended prey, until a musket-ball, which went very near
its mark, sent it off at a trot. The Kangaroo lived on board for a few days, and proved to constitute quite
a new kind, closely allied to Halmaturus Thetidis.”
Face, sides of the body, outer side of the fore limbs, and the flanks rufous, more or less interspersed with
whitish, the tips of the hairs being of that hue, and their middle portion rufous ; outer side of the hinder limbs
rich rusty red; occiput dark brown, interspersed with silvery-tipped hairs; ears clothed with long black
hairs externally, and narrowly fringed with white on the front edge ; all the upper surface of the body blackish
brown, interspersed with numerous whitish-tipped hairs, gradually blending with the rufous hue of the sides
and flanks; down the back of the neck an indistinct line of a darker or blackish hue ; across each haunch a
broad and conspicuous mark of buff; upper lip, chin, all the under surface of the body, and the inner side
of the limbs dirty white; hands and feet dark brown; upper surface of the tail dark brown; on the sides
the hairs are less numerous, and the scaly character of the skin becomes conspicuous.
feet. inches.
Length from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the (aljius le ees 4
cry THOME MeL Gallen teh rere oA MO fae a nse apne oink heap ate oats ian he eis AD 4
», of tarsus and toes, including the nail . 52
~) Okanmeanc handsmcludimes the mails 0's) 74) 72. 64
» of face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear 42
3 ~. Of ear 2
The accompanying Plates represent the head of the natural size, and a reduced figure of the entire animal.
ed
Wests
HALMATURUS BILLARDIERI,
Lbouddand hl Pichier, del 2 loth Culiruandil b Walior, [rp-
HALMATURUS BILLARDIERL.
Tasmanian Wallaby.
HEAD AND FORE PARTS, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
As the Rabbit is to us one of the commonest and most numerous of our native quadrupeds,
so is the Tasmanian Wallaby to the colonists of Van Diemen’s Land. Exceeding a Hare
in size, this useful animal is most numerous in all the scrubby and humid situations of
the island. Its physiognomy, which is striking and singular, is well portrayed in the ac-
companying illustration, while the reduced figures will give a just idea of the entire
animal. It will be seen that this species is much darker in colour than most of its
allies, and that its coat is longer and more shaggy—a character of fur which is well
adapted to its more southern, wetter, and colder climate, while its hue is in unison with
that of the herbage amidst which it dwells. The interior of the forest, amid stranded
trees and rank vegetation, are the situations in which this animal forms its runs, and from
which it is not easily driven; but for these and for all other details respecting the species
the reader is referred to the page accompanying the reduced figures.
a Ne a al Sct
a
Aimee
a ia
“OP aT ra Tr ai Cdl S UV TAU
HALMATURUS BILLARDIERI.
Tasmanian Wallaby.
Kangurus Billardierti, Desm. Mamm., Suppl. p. 542.
Macropus (Halmaturus) rufiventer, Ogilby in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part vi. (Feb. 1838) p. 23; and in Ann. of Nat.
Hist. for May 1838, vol. i. p. 220.
Halmaturus (Thylogale) Tasmanei, Gray in Ann. of Nat. Hist. for April 1838, vol. 1. p. 108.
Macropus (Halmaturus) Billardiert, Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib., Marsupialia, p. 227.
Halmaturus Billardiert, Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 159.—Gray,
List of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 90.
brachytarsus, Wagn. Schreb. Saug., Nos. 111, 112. p. 121, November 30, 1842.
Wallaby, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.
I wave but little doubt that the habitat of this Wallaby is limited to Van Diemen’s Land and the larger
islands in Bass’s Straits, in all which localities it is so numerous that the thousands annually destroyed make
no apparent diminution of its numbers. In consequence of the more southerly and therefore colder latitude
of Van Diemen’s Land, the vegetation is there much more dense and humid than on the continent of
Australia; indeed the sun never penetrates into many parts of its forests, and accordingly we find this
species clothed with a warmer and more sombre-coloured coat. It is consequently of a more hardy nature
than any of its congeners, and with care and a slight degree of perseverance it might be easily naturalized
in England; indeed I feel confident that if a sufficient number were introduced in a suitable locality, as in
some of our forests and large estates of the nobility and gentry, the experiment would be attended with
complete success. Independently of the novelty of a species of this singular tribe ranging at liberty in our
woods, its flesh could not fail to be highly esteemed for the table. Being one of the best-flavoured of the
small Kangaroos, it is very generally eaten in Van Diemen’s Land.
The Tasmanian Wallaby may be regarded as strictly gregarious, hundreds generally inhabiting the same
localities ; the situations which it frequents are gullies, and the more dense and humid parts of the forest,
particularly those that are covered with rank high grass, through and under which it forms numerous well-
beaten tracks. From these coverts it seldom emerges, and never even approaches the outskirts of the
forest except at night: hence it is seldom seen by ordinary observers. It is very easily taken with snares,
formed of a noose placed in its run; and thousands are captured in this way, solely for their skins: the
sportsman also may readily procure it by stationing himself in some open glade of limited extent, accom-
panied by two or three small yelping dogs, before which it keeps hopping round and round, and thus affords
him an opportunity of shooting it as it passes; for, like the common rabbit, it never quits the locality in
which it is bred.
Much diversity of colour is observable in different specimens, some having the throat and under surface
deep reddish buff, while others have the same parts much lighter. Its usual weight is from fifteen to twenty
pounds, although many are smaller.
This species is readily distinguished from the other small members of the group by its short ears, long,
dark-coloured fur, and the rufous or yellow tint of the under surface of the body.
Fur very thick, the hairs blue-grey at the base, buffy brown in the middle, the tips, which are much pro-
duced, ending in black ; face and all the upper surface very dark brown, approaching to black, particularly
on the shoulders and back, where the hairs become much lengthened ; arms and tarsi greyish brown ; lips,
throat, chest and under surface reddish buff; in some specimens these parts are grey tinged with buff; ears
dark brown tinged with buff; upper side of the tail dark brown, under side dirty white.
feet. inches.
length fromthe nose tojthe extremity of the tail) 9s 4°. 2 3 6
Be Ofelia eaear ep oles Nya eo onl, cA in Oe amar ee apap ns Wigan So a 1
» of tarsus and toes, including the nail . 6
oe Ol aEmeandhand.includime themails) - . 4: . % 5L
», Of face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear 42
oo Olcak 24
The accompanying Plates represent the head of the natural size, and reduced figures of the entire animals.
HALMATURUS BRACHYURUS.
Lcubdund HC huchier, deb cb titty Silimeaniel & Wadton, Lp.
HALMATURUS BRACHYURUS.
Short-tailed Wallaby.
Kangurus brachyurus, Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de l’Astrolabe, Zoologie, tom. i. p. 114. pl. 19.
Halmaturus (Thylogale) brevicaudatus, Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus. p. 90.
Macropus (Halmaturus) brachyurus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm. vol. i. p. 162.
Ban-gup, Aborigines around Perth in Western Australia.
Quak-a, Aborigines of King George’s Sound.
Berore my visit to Australia, this animal was extremely rare in the collections of Europe; indeed the
example in the Paris Museum was the only one then known. The specimen alluded to was said to have been
picked up dead at King George’s Sound, and there also my specimens were procured. Even now it is still
a rare animal, those examples introduced by myself being, so far as I am aware, all that have been trans-
mitted to Europe.
In his notes respecting this species, Mr. Gilbert states that besides meeting with it at King George’s
Sound, he found it abundant in all the swampy tracts which skirt nearly the whole of Western Australia
at a short distance from the sea, and that at Augusta, where its native name, Quak-a, is the same as
at King George’s Sound, it inhabits the thickets and is destroyed in great numbers at the close of the
season by the natives, who, after firing the bush, place themselves in a clear space and spear them as they
attempt to escape from the fire: it is also caught by the settlers with springes placed in their little covered
runs beneath the scrub. Mr. Gilbert adds, that he had not heard of its being killed to the eastward of the
Darling range.
Mr. Waterhouse has given the relative admeasurements of the Paris specimen, and of an example in the
British Museum which had been procured by Mr. Gilbert; the latter is considerably smaller than the former ;
but I have since received a specimen from the same locality which considerably exceeds both in size, its
admeasurements being as follows :—
Length from the nose to the root of the tail . . 1 foot 10 inches.
yo ORGIES tre TG iat ts Mae eo fata oh SS oe se Om 4
s ya eamsus,. toes, ald nails ..neee. fs". 41 ,,
$ sian Coleg Boe: iiceas Ser, Sue. 7 ee aa li ,,
This animal differs from all the other Aadnaturi in its short bluff head, diminutive ears, and extremely
short tail; it is also clothed, especially about the face, with thick, stiff, and wiry hairs ; which, combined
with the general character of the fur, would lead to the inference that it resorts to more humid and secluded
situations than those frequented by the other members of the genus.
The short and rounded ears, which are much hidden by the long fur of the head, are well clothed with
hairs, those on the inner side being yellow, while externally they are of the reddish-brown tint which pervades
the head and back of the neck, but which is somewhat brighter in the region of the ears; the hairs of the
back are grey next the skin, broadly annulated with yellow towards the pomt, and black at the extremity ;
the back is also beset with numerous long, interspersed, almost entirely black hairs, which, bemg most
plentiful in the middle of the back, give that part a deeper hue; the hairs of the sides of the body are similar,
but the yellow portion is paler and the tips are brownish; on the under surface the hairs are grey next
the skin, with a pale yellow external tint; feet deep brown; tail sparingly clothed with small stiff hairs,
between which rings of small blackish scales are very perceptible.
Of this rare species I have given two illustrations ; one representing the entire animal, much reduced, and
the other, the head, tail, and foot, of the natural size.
Beata
REAP lpe ‘
Leah
Divas
Saat:
TG
Gy}
“SUVS OATH O Waa. SCOPES IL WACO
HALMATURUS BRACHYURUS.
Short-tailed Wallaby.
Heap, Arms, Hinp Foor, anp Tail, OF THE SIZE OF NATURE.
Tue most remarkable feature in the zoology of Australia is, undoubtedly, the great number
of the Kangaroos, and the diversity of their characters, some being conspicuous for their
great size, others for their banded or crescentic markings, and others again for their
sombre hues and their diminutive sizes. Of that section of the family to which the
generic appellation of Halmaturus has been assigned, the Short-tailed Wallaby is the
smallest. Its nearest ally is the H. Billardieri, to which it assimilates not only in the
shortness of its ears and the shaggy character of its fur, but in its still more sombre
hues, which latter feature indicates that it dwells among grassy and dense herbage, in
swampy and humid situations.
The H. brachyurus is a native of Western Australia, the H. Thetidis of New South
Wales, and the H. Billardieri of islands of Tasmania and Bass’s Straits; and thus we find
these little Wallabys distributed along the whole of the south coast, from east to west.
The exact localities frequented by these animals will be found in the pages accompanying
the entire representations of each of them.
Mould and HC Richter del ct fith
Minllorendel &
Werktors inp
PETROGALE PENICILLATA, Gray.
Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby.
Upper Har or trHe ANIMAL, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
Ir is not a little interesting to observe how varied are the forms of the various species
of Kangaroos, and how well each is suited to the physical conditions of that great
southern land of our antipodes, Australia,—the plains, the forests, the rocks, and the
trees, each being tenanted by members of this exianeue family. Of: these the Rock-
Wallabys constitute a well-defined section, the species of which are active in the extreme
among the haunts they affect.
The P. pemeillata, the Brush-tailed Rock-Wallaby of the colonists, is an inhabitant of
New South Wales. A more detailed account of the situations it frequents will be found
in the page accompanying the Plate with the reduced figures.
POLL FL APL PL PP LLP OLE
PETROGALE PENICILLATA, Gray.
Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby.
Kangurus pencillatus, Gray, in Griff. Anim. Kingd., vol. iii. pl. opp. p. 49.
Macropus penicillatus, Benn. in Proc. Zool. Soc., part iti. p. 1—Waterh.in Jard. Nat. Lib. Mamm., vol. xi. (Mar-
supialia) p. 243. pl. 22.—Benn. Cat. of Australian Museum, Sydney, p. 6. no. 27.
Kangurus Pencillatus, Gray, in Griff. Anim. Kingd., vol. v. p. 204.
Petrogale penicillatus, Gray, in Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i. new ser. p. 583.
Heteropus albogularis, Jourd. Compte rendu de VAcad. des Sci. Oct. 9, 1837, p. 552 ?, et Ann. des Sci. Nat. 1837,
tom. Vill. p. 368 ?
Petrogale penicillata, Gould, Mon. of Macropodide.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 92.
Macropus (Heteropus) penicillatus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. i. p. 167. pl. 1.
Tue Colony of New South Wales, or the south-eastern portion of Australia, is the native habitat of the
Petrogale penicillata ; it must not, however, be understood that it is universally dispersed over this part of
the continent, for the situations it affects and for which its structure is especially adapted are very peculiar,
and do not occur in all parts of the colony; those portions of the mountain ranges stretching along the
eastern coast from Port Philip to Moreton Bay, the character of which is rocky and precipitous, are among
the localities in which it is to be found; hills of a lower elevation than those of the great ranges, and the
precipitous stony gullies between the mountains and the sea, are also situations it inhabits ; my own speci-
mens were collected in various parts of the Upper Hunter district, both on the Liverpool Range and on
the low hills which spur out in a southerly direction. Agile and monkey-like in its actions, few animals
are more active among their native rocks; it readily evades the pursuit of the Dingo or native dog (Canis
Dingo) by leaping from one rocky ledge to another, until, arriving at the edge of the cliff, it is secure from
its attacks ; it also ascends trees with facility, particularly those the half-prostrate position of which offer it
a ready means of ascent; but it more particularly loves to dwell among rocks abounding with deep and
cavernous recesses, into which it plunges on the slightest apprehension of danger, when both the natives
and its natural enemy the Dingo are generally foiled ; at the mouths of these caverns, and for a considerable
distance down the hill-sides, regular, hard, well-beaten tracks are formed, which, on the one hand, serve to
facilitate the retreat of the animal to its secure asylum, while, on the other, they indicate its proximity. I
have used the words “ monkey-like” when speaking of its actions ; and to show that they appeared as such
to others as well as to myself, I may mention that in a note by Capt. Sir Edward W. Parry, R.N., published
in the part of the Proceedings of the Zoological Society above referred to, it is stated that ‘the first inti-
mation received of these animals was that monkeys were to be seen in a particular situation ; and the
manner in which they jumped about when a number of them were approached left that impression on the
mind. They were so wild that it was impossible on the first attempt to obtain a specimen, and one which
was wounded escaped into its hole.” Sir Edward adds, ‘‘ As several were seen together on more than one
occasion, they appear to be gregarious.” It must be regarded rather as a local animal than otherwise, as
it is never to be found but in districts similar to those described. Although strictly nocturnal in its habits,
individuals may frequently be seen during the day sunning themselves on the face of a rock or on half-
prostrate trees. At such times they may be easily crept upon and shot; it was in this way that I procured
numerous specimens for my own collection.
Several examples of this species have from time to time lived in the Gardens of the Zoological Society in
the Regent’s Park, and when placed in a proper inclosure displayed all the actions and attitudes they assume
in their native wilds. A fine male now (October 1853) living in the Society’s Menagerie formed the model
from which Mr. Richter took the correct delineation given on the accompanying Plate; it was an excellent
sitter, for it remained perched on the stem of a large tree for hours together. Great diversity of colouring
occurs in different individuals, some being much darker than others ; again, some have the breast and under
surface rich rust-red, while in others the same parts are of a much paler hue, or inclining to buff.
The Petrogale penicillata may be regarded as the largest species of the well-defined genus to which it
belongs, its entire length from the nose to the end of the tail being three feet ten inches, the tail measuring
twenty-three inches ; the arm, hand and nails six inches; the tarsus, toes and nail six inches and a half;
the face from the tip of the nose to the ear four and a half inches, and the ear two inches. Of its flesh as
an article of food I can speak most highly, having frequently partaken of it in the bush and always found it
excellent. ; yt
The fur is long and rather harsh to the touch; its general colour is a dusky brown tinged saith purple,
passing into deep rusty red on the rump, the base of the tail, the hinder part of the thighs and the abdomen ;
face dark grey; along the face from the lip to the ear a dusky white mark; a narrow dark line runs from
the middle of the forehead nearly half way down the back; shoulders and flanks vinous grey, separated
from the general tint of the upper surface by an indistinct line of a lighter tint, scarcely to be distinguished
in some specimens ; a narrow white line passes from the throat down the centre of the chest; ears black,
passing into grey at the base, and having in some specimens a band of rufous along the outer edge; arms
and hands, tarsi and feet rusty red, deepening into black on their extremities.
The two sexes when adult are nearly alike in size and similar in colour.
i
#1
ane
ae
Her i
i“
i
Vi i
an
i ba
I boudd oh H.C Richter, bel. ot bith.
PEIRAIGIGS , Goudd.
Milpea & Welton, Limp.
PETROGALE LATERALIS, Gowda.
Stripe-sided Rock-Wallaby.
Uprrer HALF oF THE ANIMAL, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE, AND A REDUCED FIGURE
IN THE DISTANCE.
Tuts is the West Australian representative of the P. penicillata of New South Wales; in >
size it is somewhat smaller than that animal, but its markings are more strongly defined.
In the colony of Swan River, rocky districts alone are the places of its resort. In their
dispositions and general economy the P. lateralis and P. penicillata are very similar. I
always observed that the furry coat of the former is thicker or more dense than that of
the latter; this difference, however, cannot be depicted, but is readily seen when skins
of the two animals are seen side by side. |
The reader is referred to the page accompanying the succeeding Plate for a more de-
tailed account of this species.
as Te ty ey 3 a ee 25, IPM are Ces
nie
es Z : Sess ae al = a ite wiles a
3 : pane : i
cay Sin (eal Spee see =
: . - Sees a ia
7
\
2 *
* a
: i ‘ e ores 5
= z - ees S etc : eta ise
Goll,
~~
oe ail
ae
eo
PETROGALE LATERALIS, Gouwid.
Striped-sided Rock Wallaby.
Petrogale lateralis, Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl.
Macropus (Heteropus) lateralis, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 172.
Mos-roo-rong, Aborigines of the Perth and Toodyay districts of Western Australia.
Tuis conspicuously marked species is very abundant in all the rocky districts of Swan River, particularly
the Toodyay, and I have little doubt that the whole of the line of coast of Western Australia will hereafter
be found to be inhabited by it, wherever the character of the country is suitable. Independently of the
difference in its markings and the more woolly texture of its fur, it is a much more diminutive animal than
the P. penicillata; the crania of the two animals also exhibit sufficient differences to satisfy the most
sceptical mind of their being specifically distinct ; in their disposition and economy, however, but little
variation is found to exist.
Mr. Gilbert states that “the Petrogale lateralis is only to be met with in the rocky parts of the interior
intersected with caverns. It is a remarkably shy and wary animal, feeding only at night in little open
patches of grass, and never, from all that I have been able to observe, going more than two or three hundred
yards from its rocky retreats. When alarmed, it leaps most extraordinary distances from rock to rock and
point to point with the utmost rapidity. When running along a level surface, its tail is very much curved
upwards like that of a greyhound, and the best way to procure specimens is to walk over the rocks without
shoes, and station yourself within gunshot distance of the principal entrance to their caverns, when, on making
their appearance in the middle of the day for the purpose of sunning themselves, they are easily shot.”
Fur shorter and much softer than that of P. penicillata; general colour reddish-brown, passing into
silvery-grey on the neck and shoulders ; basal half of the tail brownish-grey, the remainder black, with a
brush at the end; face greyish-brown ; a distinct white mark from the tip to the base of the ear; a black
mark between the ears, extending in a distinct narrow line half-way down the back; ears dark brown,
becoming of a light sandy colour at the base ; a deep rich brown mark extends from behind the shoulders,
down the back of the arm, along the flanks and down the inside of the thigh; this mark is separated from
the general colour of the back by a very distinct stripe of white; chin, throat, chest and abdomen sandy-
red; under sides of the neck grey; arms light sandy-red, passing into black on the hands; tarsi reddish
brown, passing into blackish-brown on the toes.
Male.
feet. inches.
Length from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail . . . 3 5
Wee a Olen Caller tale mg Mit ees Se eatin ee ng Gee Rie aay ae ee ale Ul 5
»» 99 tarsus and toes, including the nail 51
is, », arms and hands, including the nails . ... . 48
ss », face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear 4
sa 59 CNP 1z
The first Plate represents the head of the size of life; the second, reduced figures of the entire animal.
br
>
S
>
Cee
id
XANT
Fe
ss
=
PETROGALE XANTHOPUS, Gowda.
Yellow-footed Rock-Wallaby.
A SINGLE FIGURE OF THE ENTIRE ANIMAL, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
Two reasons have induced me to give double figures of this animal—one to show its
peculiar brushy tail and richly coloured ears, of the size of life, while, in the scenery
accompanying the reduced figures, I have endeavoured to portray the kind of country
inhabited by this new and very fine species. It was one of the last discoveries made
by one who sacrificed his life in the pursuit of natural history on the east coast of Aus-
tralia; and it would have been well if the name of Frederick Strange had been associated
with the species. Dr. Gray has, however, seized upon a good specific character in the.
name of wanthopus, which will for ever serve to distinguish this fine species of the
genus Petrogale.
PETROGALE XANTHOPUS, Gray.
Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby.
Petrogale «anthopus, Gray in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Nov. 14, 1854.
Aux that is known respecting this fine animal is, that two examples, a male and a female, were collected on
Flinders’ Range in South Australia, and sent to this country by Mr. Strange, and that they were subse-
quently purchased by Dr. Gray for the British Museum collection, wherein they are now deposited.
The Petrogale xanthopus is a typical example of the genus to which it belongs, and may be regarded
as one of the finest species of the form yet discovered. Its large size and rich colourmg render it very
conspicuous, while the buffy hue of the ears and legs at once distinguishes it from the whole of its congeners.
The habits, actions and economy of the Petrogale xanthopus are doubtless as similar to those of the other
members of the genus as it is like them in form, but on these points nothing is at present known.
Fur long, soft, and yielding to the touch; face, head, and all the upper surface vinous brown-grey,
becoming greyest on the rump; a narrow line of dark rich brown extends from the crown of the- head
down the centre of the back; on each cheek a distinct mark of white; eyelashes full, prominent, and
brownish-black ; behind each arm a large patch of reddish-brown, separated from the general tint of the
upper surface by a streak of buffy-white ; ears ochre-yellow, becoming lighter at the base, fringed internally
with white, and tipped externally with brown; front of the arms bright buff; hands rich dark brown; outer
side of the legs light ochreous-brown, fading into white on the inner side, and passing into the rich dark
brown of the toes; throat and under surface white; tail ochreous-brown, irregularly barred with a darker
tint, and ending in a conspicuous tuft which is rich brown above and ochreous below.
Of so fine a species I have considered it desirable to give two illustrations,—the entire animal, necessarily
much reduced, and a foreshortened figure of the size of life. Nor must I omit to call attention to the
interest which would attach to the introduction of living examples to our menageries, and to the acquisition
of additional examples for our museums.
Lbould und Ml Lechter, del. litte
PETROGALE INORNATA, Gad
Lullnartlil 4 Wilbon, Lr.
PETROGALE INORNATA, Gowda.
Unadorned Rock-Wallaby.
Urrer Haur or THe ANIMAL, OF THE SIZE OF LIFE.
Tue northern as well as the southern portions of the Australian continent are evidently
tenanted by members of that section of the Kangaroos to which the present species
belongs; for although a single example only has yet reached me from the north coast,
it is sufficient to show that such is the case.
The P. inornata is a true Petrogale, and, like the P. concinna, merely differs from its
congeners in the total absence of stripes or markings on its sides.
This plain-coloured but rare species is one I would recommend to the notice of the
naturalists and explorers who may visit the north coast of Australia, where it was dis-
covered by Mr. Bynoe.
Avery reduced figure of the entire animal will be found on the next Plate.
ore
Es
4h fiachter AA
-ETROGAL
VATIEA 8 Goa.
L futlimandel In Y
PETROGALE INORNATA, Gouwid.
Unadorned Rock Wallaby.
Petrogale inornata, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part x. p. 5.—Ib. Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Gray, List of
Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 92.
Macropus (Heteropus) inornatus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 175.
Tus new species, tor which I am indebted to the kindness of B. Bynoe, Esq., of H.M.S. Beagle, differs
from all the other members of the genus in the unusual uniformity of its colouring. Mr. Bynoe collected
it on the north coast of Australia. In size it is about equal to the P. dateralis of the western coast, to
which, as also to P. penicillata, it is very nearly allied, but differs from them both in being destitute of
any markings on the sides, in the absence of any dark colouring behind the ears, and in the light colouring
of the arms and tarsi.
During the interval of nearly twenty years which has elapsed since I first characterized this animal, no
additional examples of this, or any other mammal of the rarely visited part of Australia it inhabits, have
reached this country; but when the north coast of Australia shall have been thrown open to the settler,
it will doubtless be found that the Petrogale inornata is as abundant in the rocky districts of that part
of the country as the P. penicillata is in the brushes of New South Wales.
General colour of the upper parts sandy grey, grizzled over the shoulders, and becoming much lighter
on the flanks; an indistinct line of a lighter hue along the face under the eye; a dusky red patch behind
the elbow; under surface sandy white, inclining to rufous on the lower part of the abdomen; arms and
tarsi sandy grey, passing into dark brown at the extreme tips of the toes ; basal half of the tail sandy brown,
the remainder black, the former colour extending along the sides of the tail for some distance towards
the tip; ears sandy grey, bordered by a very narrow line of dark brown on their inner edge ; a dark patch
at the occiput, passing into a dark line down the forehead.
Female.
feet. inches.
Length from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail . . . . . . 38 2
= WEEE ROL SU nse 0S. oy, 2 Vin) go MRM 7 A anor eg eee ee a | on
oy 4) Olgtarsus; and: toes, ine uding: thermally em em Nau sys ee caf 7s ab
» of arm and hand, including the nails Be ape DL ON Sanaa sa aed 5
» of face, from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . . . . . 44
or Ol ears 13
The accompanying Plates represent the head of the natural size, and a reduced figure of the entire animal.
aie
l
Leet
ae
PETROGALE BRACHYOTIS, Goud
<
‘
<
~
N
.
S
x
Leib rll Titifbe7, il 1 lel
PETROGALE BRACHYOTIS, Gouwid.
Short-eared Rock-Wallaby.
Macropus (Petrogale) brachyotis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part viii. p. 127.—Ib. Mon. of Macropodide, ple:
brachiotis, Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 247.
(Heteropus) brachiotis, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 176.
Petrogale brachyotis, Gray, List of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 92.
Tue discovery of this species of Rock Kangaroo is due to the researches of His Excellency Sir George
Grey, the present (1859) Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, who procured it on the North-west coast of
Australia, near Hanover Bay, on the 29th of December, 1837. The two specimens, a male and a female,
then obtained, which appear to be fully adult, are in the British Museum, and are at present unique. Sir
George Grey states that the animal “ is excessively wild and shy in its habits, frequenting in the day-time the
highest and most inaccessible rocks, and only coming down to the valleys to feed early in the morning and
late in the evening. When disturbed in the day-time it bounds among the roughest and most precipitous
rocks, apparently with the greatest facility, and is so watchful and wary that it is by no means easy to get a
shot at it. How it can support the excessive heat of the sand rocks amongst which it always lies is to me
truly astonishing, the temperature there during the hottest part of the day being frequently 136°. I have
never seen this animal on the low land or the plains, and I consequently believe it to be entirely an
inhabitant of the mountains.”
No other species of Rock Kangaroo has yet been discovered with such short and scanty hair as the Petrogale
brachyotis, which scantiness of covering may be due to the great heat of the latitudes it inhabits, and the
peculiar localities to which it resorts—hard craggy rocks exposed to the burning sun. In confirmation of
this being a genuine species, Mr. Waterhouse remarks :—
“The Short-eared Rock Kangaroo is readily distinguished from the pentcillatus and Jdateraks by the
absence of the black band on the sides of the body, the only remains of this dark hue being confined to a
patch immediately behind the base of the fore leg ; its general colour is paler, and the fur is much shorter ;
the tail is less bushy ; its bulk is moreover inferior, and the proportionately small size of the ears is an
important distinguishing character ; in its smaller size and in the reddish hue of the upper parts of the
body, it approaches to concinnus ; but besides other differences, that animal does not possess any dark mark
or spot on the sides of the body.”
Fur short and rather close to the body ; general colour of the upper surface greyish brown, suffused with
rust-colour; under surface dirty yellowish white; head pale brown, with a dirty white mark on each side ;
cheeks almost white; ears pale internally, dusky externally; a rusty black patch on the body, immediately
behind the base of the fore leg ; fore feet brown ; nails of the toes very short and scarcely projecting beyond
the fleshy portion, which is extremely rough beneath ; tail moderately bushy, coloured at the base like the
body, but the apical third dusky black.
Male.
feet. inches.
Length from the nose to the extremity of the tal . . . . . . . 3 0
PC) ret Le a ge ac eae a ames eee a bas;
»» 5, tarsus and toes, including the nail . 0 5
»» 595 arms and hands, including the nails ee 0 31
» 5» face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear 0 33
i a cals 0 12
The larger figure is about the size of life.
A, Goud,
c
ROGALE CON
i
PE,
Hullmandd & Walton, Imp
Lbould and HC Richtor, del. & lith.
PETROGALE CONCINNA, Gowda.
Little Rock Wallaby.
Petrogale concinna, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part x. p. 57.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 92.
Macropus (Heteropus) concinnus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 177.
Many parts of Australia are even yet almost unknown both to travellers and naturalists; particularly
the countries bordering its northern and north-western coasts—not to mention the distant interior; and
in all these parts, numerous new species of quadrupeds, birds, and other classes of natural history are
in my opinion to be discovered. The north-west coast has, it is true, been visited by the officers of
H.M. Surveying Ship Beagle, and such species as fell in their way have been collected by them, but
their official duties prevented them from giving that attention to the subject that could be desired. .
Nearly all they did collect proved to be new to science. The present interesting Little Rock Wallaby
may be cited as a case in point, having been one of the specimens thus procured and brought home by
Lieut. Emery, R.N. The single specimen obtained by this gentleman, and which is now in the British
Museum, is fully adult, and is remarkable for its brilliant colouring and diminutive size. Mr. Waterhouse
remark, that ‘‘it may be readily distinguished from its congeners, not only by its small size and bright,
colouring, but by the absence of any black spot behind the base of the fore-leg.”
Fur moderately long and somewhat soft to the touch; general colour bright rusty-red; head palish ash-
colour, slightly suffused with rust-colour, which tint is most conspicuous above the eyes ; cheeks rusty-white,
with an indistinct greyish-brown mark extending forwards from the front of the eye; ears very pale brown
externally, and lined with a few white hairs internally; fur on the back grey next the skin, and this tint at
the root of each hair is followed by brilliant rusty-red, then a broad space which is white, and lastly, the tip
is deep rusty-brown; on the under parts of the body the fur is grey next the skin, and yellowish-white on
the visible portion; fore-legs rusty-white; hands brownish-white; hind-legs pale rust-colour externally ;
tarsi brownish-white, slightly pencilled with brown; on the back of the neck an indistinct trace of a mesial
darker mark ; tail clothed at the base with fur like that of the body ; beyond this the hairs are of a harsher
nature, at first about half an inch in length, and on the apical third about : an inch and a half, of a brownish-
white, tipped with black.
The accompanying Plate represents the animal about the natural size.
EM
i
Fehrs
Sbndd and ILC Richter, del. lith
DEN DROLAG
US WIASIND:
x)
9 Mult.
Hiudinucndel & Walton, Finp.
DENDROLAGUS URSINUS, miu.
Black 'Tree-Kangaroo.
Dendrolagus ursinus, Mill. Zoogd. van den Indischen Archipel., part iv. pl. 19; pl. 22. fig. 1, head ; pl. 23. figs. 1-3,
and pl. 24. fig. 1, skull; figs. 2 & 3, bones of hind-leg.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl. One
Waterh. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. i. p. 185.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 87.
As an evidence of how little we know of the productions of New Guinea, and of the infrequency of our
intercourse with that country, I may state, that, although twelve years have elapsed since the publication of
the second part of my ‘“‘ Monograph of the Macropodide, or Family of Kangaroos,” I have not been able
to obtain any information respecting the history and habits of this singular animal beyond the meagre
account there given, the substance of which I here repeat.
Both the Dendrolagus ursinus and the D. inustus are natives of New Guinea, where they inhabit the trees,
and feed upon the bark and leaves of the smaller branches, fruits and berries. They were discovered in
Triton Bay by Dr. M. S. Miller, who states that they also frequent the interior of the country: in all
probability they are generally dispersed over the forests of that ¢erra incognita. What a field for enterprise
here presents itself to the notice of the scientific explorer ! .
The specimen from which my former illustration was taken, and which was then in the Royal Museum at
Leyden, now forms part of the fine collection at the British Museum; the half-figure, of the size of life, on
the accompanying Plate was also taken from the same example.
The following accurate description of this animal is transcribed from Mr. Waterhouse’s ‘“‘ Natural History
of the Mammalia,” a work of great scientific value, which it is to be regretted has been discontinued for
want of a due appreciation of its merits on the part of the public :—
“This animal has received the specific name of wursinus, no doubt on account of a certain superficial
resemblance it has to a small Bear, arising in a great measure from the nature of its fur, which differs much
from that of the ordinary Kangaroos, not only in being harsh and glossy, but in being composed of one kind
of hair only; it would appear that that kind of hair which forms the chief clothing in the ordinary Kangaroos
is here entirely, or almost entirely, wanting ; and that the hairs representing the longer interspersed hairs in
the fur of those animals, here forms the entire coat. With all the essential characters of the true
Kangaroos, we find, in these tree-climbing animals, the limbs modified for their different mode of life: the
long hind-legs of the Kangaroo proper are replaced by comparatively short legs, and the fore-legs are but
little inferior in size to the posterior limbs; the strong fore-feet are armed with stout and long claws, com-
pressed and much curved, and fitted for clinging to the inequalities of the bark of the trees. The
enormously long tail no doubt helps to balance the animal whilst on the branches of the lofty trees which it
ascends in quest of food.
‘On the upper parts and sides of the body, as well as the limbs (excepting at the base internally), the
fur is black and glossy, and very nearly uniform to the skin, an indistinct brownish hue being only obser-
vable at the roots of the hairs; tail densely clothed throughout, and black, but tinted with brown at the
roots of the hairs; ears densely clothed with very long hairs which completely conceal them; the hairs
springing from the top of the ears are brown, but the rest are black; the head in front of the ears and the
whole of the under parts of the body are brown, but varying in intensity in parts, being darker round the
eye and on the muzzle, and yellowish on the cheeks; the belly is also yellowish, whilst the chest assumes a |
deeper hue; the muffle appears as if naked, but has in fact very minute hairs scattered over it.”
Sh
milan
ie
INUSTUS, Mi
DROLAGUS
DEN
Hudimanutel & Waliory Lop
techeier’, Wel.
fe
anh ACF
a
J
DENDROLAGUS INUSTUS, Muu.
Brown Tree-Kangaroo.
Dendrolagus inustus, Miill. Zoogd. van den Indischen Archipel., part iv. pl. 20; pl. 22. fig. 2, head; pl. 23.
figs. 4-6, and pl. 24. fig. 4, skull; figs. 5 & 6, bones of hind-leg.—Gould, Mon, of Macropodide,
pl. —-Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 188.
Since the appearance of the second part of my “Monograph of the Macropodide, or Family of Kan-
garoos,” in which I published a reduced figure of this animal, taken from a preserved specimen in the
Royal Museum at Leyden, a living example has been transmitted to the Gardens of the Zoological Society
of London, and lived there for some years. In disposition it appeared to be more slothful than the ter-
restrial Kangaroos, as it spent the greater part of the day on the large branch of the tree placed in the cage
in which it was kept, and there it would sit for hours together in a moping, sleepy attitude, with its great
brush tail coiled round the front of its body; at other times it was somewhat more active, and would then
sit erect, with the tail hanging down nearly straight, much after the manner of the Monkeys.
The Dendrolagus inustus is a native of New Guinea, where it was discovered by Dr. W. S. Miller in
Triton Bay. The description of the habits of the animal, so long promised by this gentleman, has not yet,
I believe, appeared ; at least I am unable to find it in any of the great works on the Dutch possessions in
the Indian Archipelago, to which-I have access.
The following note, respecting the living specimen above mentioned, occurs in Mr. Mitchell’s “ Popular
Guide to the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London,” p. 58 :—
«The Tree-Kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus) has only in one instance been brought alive to Europe. This
specimen was presented to the Society by Lieut.-Col. Butterworth, C.B., Governor of Singapore. The
beautiful modification of structure in the extremities, by which it is enabled to ascend the straightest palm-
trees, presents a most instructive contrast, when compared with the same organs in the Kangaroos, which
’ bound in leaps of twenty feet along the ground.”
The accompanying drawing, which represents half of the animal of the size of life, was made by
Mr. H. C. Richter, from the living example in the Society’s Gardens. The entire figure, from the Leyden
specimen, is much reduced.
The following is Mr. Waterhouse’s careful description of this species, which I transcribe rather than give
one of my own, as the animal mentioned was somewhat out of condition when it died :—
«This species is about the same size as D. ursinus, from which it differs not only in being of a brown
colour, but in having the muzzle and tarsi rather more elongated, and the ears less densely clothed with
fur: the hairs of the back do not so distinctly radiate from a poimt, rather behind the shoulders, as in
D. ursinus ; over the shoulders, however, the hairs are directed outwards, and on the back part of the neck
they are directed forwards, but are semi-erect, and those of the head are directed backwards. The fur is
rather less harsh than in D. ursinus ; its general hue is deepish brown on the upper parts of the body,
but here each hair is brown at the base, shaded into brownish-black externally, whilst at the point they are
of a very pale brown inclining to white; on the under parts of the body, the exposed portions of the hairs
are white, or very nearly so, but in the middle they are of a very pale brown, at the base still paler, and
nearly white in some parts; the sides of the head are pale brown, and the upper surface dusky-brown ;
the muzzle is clothed with very short hairs; the ears tolerably well clothed with longish hairs, brown on the
inner side, and dusky on the outer; the limbs are brownish-white, but the hairs on these parts are brown
at the root; the hinder part of the haunches and the under surface of the base of the tail are whitish ; the
tail is well clothed with longish harsh hairs, partly brownish-white and partly pale brown, the general hue
being paler than that of the body; all the feet are dusky-brown, pencilled with whitish on the hinder
parts.”
JS Gotde ant Ckichter, del. & bith.
Fiullrandd & Walton, frp.
ee eee
Pie heey
Saat
i
DORCOPSIS BRUNI.
Filander.
Filander, Le Brun, Voy. par Muscovie, en Perse, et aux Ind. Orient., tom. i. p. 347. f. 213. 1718.—Ib. Edition of
1725, vol. v. p. 45. pl. at p. 43.
Didelphis Brunii, Schreb. Saug., tom. iil. p. 551. pl. 153.—Gmel. Edit. of Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 109.—Shaw,
Gen. Zool., vol. i. p. 480.—Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de l’Astrolabe, Zool., p. 116. pl. 20.
Asiatica, Pall. Act. Acad. Sci. Petrop. 1777, pt. 2. p. 229. tab. 9. figs. 4, 5.
Javan Opossum, Penn. Hist. of Quad., p. 305.
Halmaturus Bruni, Il. Prod. Syst. Mamm. et Av., p. 80.
Macropus veterum, Less. Man. de Mamm., p. 227.
- Brunu, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 283.
Hypsiprymnus Brum, Miill. Zoogd. der Indesch. Archipel., pt. 4. pl. 21; head, pl. 22. fig. 3; skull, pl. 23. figs. 7
and 8, and pl. 24. fig. 7; bones of hind leg, pl. 24. figs. 8, 9.
Halmaturus Asiaticus, Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 91.
Macropus Brunu, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 180.
Dorcopsis Bruni, Mill. Verh. Zool. Mamm., p. 131. pl. 21.—Sclater in Journ. of Proc. of Linn. Soc., Zoology,
vol. ii. p. 154.
Berne desirous of rendering my account of the Kangaroos as perfect as possible, I have considered it
advisable to figure and describe in this work the species of that group of animals inhabiting New Guinea, in
addition to those found in Australia and Van Diemen’s Land. Independently of the two species of Dendro-
lagus, this contiguous island presents us with another animal belonging to the same family, which is rendered
especially remarkable from the circumstance of its being the earliest known species of this singular group of
quadrupeds ; its discovery dating as far back as 1711, long before the geographical limits of Australia had
been ascertained, or its productions become known to us. But, although so long a time—nearly one
hundred and fifty years—has elapsed since its discovery, little or nothing is known of its habits and
economy, and specimens are still rarely to be found in our own museums or those of the Continent. In
his work on “‘ The Natural History of the Mammalia,” Mr. Waterhouse states :—
“This singular animal is the first of the Kangaroo family with which naturalists became acquainted, being
imperfectly described, but better figured, as early as the year 1711, by Le Brun; its characters were sub-
sequently more carefully pointed out by Pallas, and it is upon the accounts of these two authors that all the
various descriptions and notices in systematic works, chiefly under the specific names of Filander and Brunii,
have been founded until a comparatively recent period. Several specimens of the Filander were seen, in a
state of captivity, at Batavia by Le Brun; these, however, must have been transported from New Guinea,
whence it has since been procured during the French expedition of the Astrolabe, and still more recently
by the naturalists sent out by the Dutch Government, to whom we are indebted for many important
additions to our knowledge of the natural-history productions of the islands of the Indian Archipelago.
One of the specimens of this last-mentioned expedition is now in the British Museum, and enables me to
give an original description.”
The following quaint note is a translation of the passage referring to this animal in Le Brun’s “ Voyage
par Muscovie, en Perse, et aux Indes Orientales,” published in 1725 :—
‘“‘Bemg at the country-house of my general in Batavia, I there saw a certain animal which is called
Filander, and which is something very singular. There were several of them which ran about with the
rabbits, and had their burrows under a little hill surrounded by a balustrade. This animal, which I have
represented in the plate, has the hind-legs much longer than those of the front, and is nearly of the size and
texture of hair of a large Hare ; it has a pointed tail, and the head approaches that of a Fox; but the most
singular thing about it is, that it has an opening under the belly in the form of a bag, in which the young
enter and go out again even when they are tolerably large: one may often see the head and the neck out
of this bag; but when the mother runs, they do not appear to keep at the bottom of the bag, because she
jerks strongly in running.”
The following is Mr. Waterhouse’s description of the specimen in the British Museum, which was
formerly in my own possession, I having received it from the late M. Temminck, of Leyden :—
“The Filander, like the Tree-Kangaroos, has the fur radiating from a point rather behind the shoulders,
and the hair on the neck directed forwards as in those animals. The fur is remarkably short, rather soft,
and has very little gloss ; on the crown of the head the hairs have their points directed inwards and back-
wards, and there meeting the hairs of the neck, which have the points directed forwards, a small tuft is
formed at their point of junction on the back of the head. The general tint of the animal is brown,
slightly inclining to greyish brown on the back; the sides of the body are of a somewhat brighter colour,
being slightly tinted with yellowish ; the whole of the under parts, as well as the fore-legs and feet, are of
a dirty yellowish white; the hind-legs are of the same tint externally as the sides of the body, but paler on
their inner sides; the tarsi are of a uniform pale brown. ‘The ears are rather small, rounded at the tip,
and clothed externally with short and almost velvet-like black hairs; internally the hairs are few in number
and of a greyish hue; the tail is well clothed with short and soft hairs, brown on the upper surface, and
brownish white beneath; on the sides of the tail the hairs, instead of pointing backwards as usual, are
directed upwards; the tip of the tail is almost destitute of hair (apparently worn off by friction), and
exhibits the scales very distinctly. The head is of a pale brown colour, and the muffle is naked.
inches. lines.
“ Length from the tip of the nose to the root of the tal . . . . 29 3
cok alll a5 See aa © URI a cog ee nS 3
si 55 UIESUUS — 6 0
, from nose to ear 5 1
0. Olean: = A ay AN, ster im ae co ] 10
,, fore-arm, from elbow to ends of fingers . vi 6.”
The Plate represents the fore part of the animal of the natural size ; and complete figures in the distance,
which are necessarily much reduced.
pete Se a
disc
5
a
4
om
i
ONYCHOGALEA UNGUIFER, Gon.
Heidlenarte 4 Welton bap
I bould and H.C Lechter, del ot litho.
ONYCHOGALEA UNGUIFERA, Gowda.
Nail-tailed Kangaroo.
Heap, Arms, AND Tip or THE TAIL, IN TWO POSITIONS, OF THE SIZE OF NATURE.
A more singular Kangaroo than the present does not exist among the known species of
this great family of animals, its whole contour being characterized by a degree of elegance
seldom seen among the Mammalia; but its most peculiar feature is the well-developed
but somewhat flat nail at the end of the tail. It is said that the Lion has this organ
terminating in a spiny hook; and here we find an analogous feature among the Kangaroos.
From the discovery of Australia to the present time (March 1863), the single specimen
of this animal in the British Museum is the only one that has been sent to Europe.
It will be seen by the accompanying illustration, that the appendage which renders this
species so remarkable is covered and protected by a well-developed tuft of lengthened
hairs. Reduced figures of the entire animal will be found on the succeeding Plate, and
a more lengthened description on the accompanying page.
a es scaricare Pe TON VAIVIOHIENO | . ~———
ONYCHOGALEA UNGUIFER, Gowda.
Nail-tailed Kangaroo.
Macropus unguifer, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part viii. p. 93.—Ib. Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Gray, List
of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 88.—Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 75.
Tuts very elegant little Kangaroo, of which I have only seen a single example, was liberally placed in my
hands, for the purpose of being described and figured, by Mr. Bynoe, of Her Majesty’s Ship the Beagle, who
had obtained it on the north-west coast during the present expedition of that vessel, whose captains and
other officers, not only in this, but in her former voyage, have so largely extended our knowledge of the
zoological productions of the little-known countries they have visited in the course of their explorations.
This animal peculiarly attracts our attention by the circumstance of its possessing a character not found
in any other known member of its family, namely, a broad flattened nail much resembling that of the finger,
situated at the extremity of the tail, but which is not ordinarily observable, from its being hidden in the tuft
of long black hairs clothing the apical portion of that organ. It is true that a somewhat similar character
exists in the Onychogalea frenata, but in that species it is merely rudimentary.
The foregoing remarks were published in my Monograph of the Kangaroos, and although nearly twenty
years have since elapsed, no additional information has been obtained, nor has any other specimen than the
original one in the British Museum been procured ; it consequently still remains unique. It may be as well,
however, to add Mr. Waterhouse’s opinion respecting this animal, since it tends to establish a species
dependent upon the skin of a single specimen; though no doubt could, I should suppose, be entertained by
any one on this point, since the extreme elegance of the animal, both in shape and colour, and its lengthened
tail terminated with an extraordinary-shaped nail, serve to distinguish it from every other known species.
“The muffle in O. unguifer,” says Mr. Waterhouse, ‘is covered with hair, with the exception of a very
narrow margin next the nostril-openings: the foremost of the three incisor teeth on either side of the upper
jaw is distinctly the broadest, the other two are very nearly equal in width; the hindermost has a strong
oblique external fold ; these teeth are small compared with the incisors of most Kangaroos. A canine tooth
is present, but it is very small. The tarsi are very long and slender; the ends of the nails of the double inner
toe terminate 2+ inches short of the end of the nail of the great central toe, and the tip of the nail of the
outer toe is 1} inch short of the same point; the nails of the two larger toes are long, narrow, and much
compressed above. The nails of the finger are rather short and broad.”
Fur very short and moderately soft; general colour buffy yellow, extending on to the outer side of the
legs and the base of the tail, and gradually passing into the all but pure white of the head, ears, legs and
under surface; on each side of the body just before the knee a pale rusty patch; a brownish mark com-
mences about the middle of the back, runs backward over the rump, and extends to about four inches along
the upper surface of the tail; arms and tarsi cream-white ; an indistinct yellowish-white mark, curving
upwards, crosses the thigh at the base; middle portion of the tail brownish, the tip being clothed with a
long black tuft, in the centre of which is a thinnish black nail half an inch in length and a quarter of an
inch in breadth, convex above and concave beneath, considerably resembling the nail of the human finger.
feet. inches.
Wenothitrometie nOselto) therextrenibty Of tne tallies. eee gt a 4
Sem Oat cllne Sak as sen barr te ISD Serr ain pay ene eines Ea ie mesh uemend Cerna Oe, ef 2 0D)
» 5, tarsus and toes, including the nail . Fat
ys, arm and hand, including the nails se CY 5
» >, face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear. . a
= 99 CBNE 24
One of the accompanying Plates represents the head and fore part of the body, and two views of the
extremity of the tail, all of the natural size; the other Plate, reduced figures of the entire animal.
Mince & Wabton inp.
Hii
ONYCHOGALEA FRANATA, Gowa.
Bridled Nail-tailed Kangaroo.
Macropus frenatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 92.—Ib. Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Waterh.
Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 77.
Onychogalea frenata, Gray, List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 88.
Tue large ears, full eyes, delicate limbs and lengthened tail of the Onychogalea frenata, conjoined with the
- soft grey fur of its face and body, beautifully relieved by diverging lines of black and white, render it one
of the most graceful objects that can be conceived. In its disposition it is_timid, peaceful and shy in the
extreme, and the faculty of hearing, as indicated by the great development of its ears, being remarkably
acute, it is exceedingly difficult to procure. It is a native of the south-eastern portions of Australia, and
the locality nearest to the colony of New South Wales in which I observed it was Brezi, on the river
Mokai, whence it extended into the interior as far as I had an opportunity of proceeding; Mr. Gilbert sub-
sequently discovered that it was common in the thick patches of scrub which are dispersed over all parts of
the Darling Downs. It inhabits all the low mountain ranges, the elevation of which varies from one to S1x
hundred feet, and which are of a sterile character—hot, dry, stony, and thickly covered with shrub-like
stunted trees. These situations are also the abode of the Hadmaturus dorsalis, with which I sometimes
found the Onychogalea frenata associating ; but it differs from that species, which is strictly an imhabitant
of the brushes, in frequenting the more open parts, and occasionally even the plains. When started from
its seat, which is formed like that of a hare, beneath the shelter of a tuft of grass or a small bush, it bounds
away with remarkable fleetness, generally giving the best dogs a sharp run, and frequently making its escape
by gaining the thick part of the brush, or the hole of a decayed tree; one of those I procured, on being
sharply pressed, mounted the inside of a tree, to an opening nearly fifteen feet from the ground; whence
it leaped down before the dogs and succeeded in reaching the hollow of a fallen trunk, from which it was
finally taken by the hand.
In the neighbourhood of Brezi the natives hunt this species with dogs, and often kill it with spears,
bommerengs and other weapons; at Gundermein on the Lower Namoi I found myself among a tribe of
natives who succeed in capturing them with nets, which, although rudely constructed, are very well adapted
to the purpose. On being made acquainted with my object, they were easily induced to accompany me to a
“ Brigaloe brush,” in which the present species and the Ha/maturus dorsalis were very abundant. Arriving at
the skirts of the brush, the oldest men of the tribe separated from the rest, each two taking a net about
twenty-five yards long by three and a half feet wide, with which they proceeded to those parts where the
runs of the animals were most frequent, while the rest of the natives entered the brush on the opposite side,
and with loud shouts and yells drove the Kangaroos towards the nets; by this means in a single afternoon
they obtained for me as many specimens as I desired.
Its food consists of grass and various kinds of herbage, and its flesh, like that of the other small Kan-
garoos, is excellent, and when procurable was eaten by me in preference to other meat.
Some diversity of colour is found to occur in examples from different localities ; those obtained by
Mr. Gilbert on the Darling Downs being of a much browner hue than those I procured on the Mokai and
Namoi.
Fur short and soft, general tint grey, being finely penciled with black and white; under surface of the
body and inner side of the limbs white; on the cheeks a white mark, beneath which is a dusky line; ears
clothed externally with grey hairs, edged with black at the apex and lined internally with white hairs ;
a
muzzle blackish in front of the eye; from the occiput two conspicuous white marks run backward, and
diverging, pass one on each side over the shoulder, and recurve at a short distance behind the insertion .
of the fore-leg ; the space between these lines is black on the occiput, and brownish black on the back of the
neck; sides of the neck suffused with pale ochreous yellow; tarsi and arms nearly white; hands and toes
dusky, but most of the hairs round the nails of the former white ; tail coloured like the body at the base,
but black along the upper surface of the apical third, and at the point where the hairs being longer than
elsewhere, hide a small horny tubercle with which the tail is terminated ; under surface of the tail dirty
yellowish white.
The female is not distinguished by any difference in marking; the stripes are quite as intense as in the
male, and are even apparent in the foetus. .
Considerable variation occurs in the weight of individuals, and particularly in the size and weight of the
sexes, fully adult males weighing from ten to twelve pounds, while the females do not exceed four or six.
The following are the admeasurements of the largest specimens I have seen ; ordinarily they are about
one-fifth smaller :—
Male. Female.
feet. inches. feet. inches.
length fromthe mose to the rootyot the tall 5) vase 2 3 4 2 8t
Sop OTOP REMO MU AML a7 mal gtielna’ sgt Lage Rigs ON ec eet Rin Miler aeas Sika a 1 i 1 3
3 ,», tarsus and toes, including the nails 0 64 0 5
i », arm and hand, including the nails atreae 0 5 0 4
4 ,, face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . 0 oe 0 on
os by CBU 0 3t 0 34
The Plate represents a male about three-fourths of the natural size.
a
Reg
at
id
a Clk
\.
ee
ONYCHOGALEA LUNATA, Gould.
Lunated Nail-tailed Kangaroo.
Macropus lunatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 93.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 88.—
Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 79.
Wuen writing upon the Birds of Australia I frequently had occasion to allude to the very remarkable
manner in which different species of the same form represent each other on opposite parts of the conti-
nent; and that a similar law of representation exists among the Mammals, is evidenced by the present and
preceding species, which, although most nearly allied, inhabit portions of the country as widely apart as if
seas had flowed between, as at some distant period was probably the case. We have no evidence that they
approach each other in the interior of the country, as neither of them have yet been discovered within the
limits of the intervening colony of South Australia; consequently they must be regarded as beautiful repre-
sentatives of each other in the respective countries they inhabit.
Although assimilating in form and markings to the Onychogalea frenata, the present species is certainly
less ornamental, and is also much smaller in all its dimensions. The habits and economy of the two species
are very similar; both exhibit a remarkable degree of shyness and timidity, and seek safety in flight upon
the slightest alarm. I had no opportunity of observing it in a state of nature myself, but Mr. Gilbert’s notes
inform me that “ the aurong,,” by which name it is known to the natives, ‘is found in the gum forests
of the interior of Western Australia, where there are patches of thick scrub and dense thickets, in the open
glades intervening between which it is occasionally seen sunning itself, but at the slightest alarm imme-
diately betakes itself to the shelter of the thick scrub; the dogs sometimes succeed in driving it out to the
open spots, when, like the Kangaroo rats, it runs to the nearest hollow log, and is then easily captured. I
remarked, that when sitting quietly cleaning itself, there was a constant twitching of the tail in an upward
direction; an action which I have never seen performed by any other Kangaroo. I was not sufficiently near
to ascertain whether this motion of the tail had any connection with the claw or nail at its extremity, but I
think it not improbable. The aurong makes no nest, but forms a hollow in the soft ground beneath a
thick brush in which it lies during the heat of the day.”
Fur soft and of moderate length; general tint ashy grey, finely pencilled with dusky and yellowish white ;
back of the neck and shoulders vinous rust-colour; a short distance behind the base of the fore-leg a
distinct curved white mark; under surface of the body pale grey, the hairs tipped with dirty white; on the
sides of the body a faint rusty tint, more distinct in some specimens than in others; around the eye a ring
of pale rust-colour, and the muzzle suffused with the same tint; ear clothed with long white hairs within,
and externally with very minute dusky hairs finely freckled with yellowish white; on the hinder half the
hairs are longer and almost white, at the apex a delicate fringe of blackish hairs; fore-feet in some speci-
mens brown, in others dirty white; tarsi chiefly dirty white, but the sides of the toes suffused with pale
brown; tail clothed for the most part with short adpressed hairs, having a general greyish tint; on the
upper surface the hairs are somewhat lengthened, and on the apical portion they form a slight crest which
is usually blackish ; at the tip of the tail is a small conical horny appendage like a nail, of about an eighth
of an inch in length.
Male.
ft. in.
Length from the nose to the root of the tail 1 8
5, of the tail Sere Gir Mamcre ane 0 12
Bs », tarsus and toes including the nails 0 48
oe yo anm aud: handancludine: the nailsy 0 4) 5 4) © 0 a
5 » face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . 0 3
29 29 ear 0 QL
It is to be regretted that this as well as all other Kangaroos lose the delicate tints of their colouring on
exposure to light; so much so in the present instance, that Museum and recent specimens could scarcely
be considered as identical.
The Plate represents the two sexes rather under the natural size.
LAGORCHESTES FASCIATUS.
Banded Hare-Kangaroo.
Kangarus fasciatus, Péron et Lesueur, Voy. aux Terr. Aust., tom. i. p. 114. pl. 27.—Desm. Mamm.., part i. p. 274.
Halmaturus elegans, Cuv. Regne Anim., tom. i. p. 187.
Bettongia fasciata, Gould, Mon. of Macropodidz, pl.
Lagorchestes albipilis, Gould, Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. x. 1842, p. 2.
Macropus (Lagorchestes) fasciatus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 87.
I pevieve that this beautiful species is noticed for the first time in the Voyage of the celebrated Dampier,
but MM. Péron and Lesueur are undoubtedly entitled to the credit of making it known to science. _ It was
during their voyage to the ‘‘ Terres Australes,” and while exploring the western coasts of Australia, that
they met with it on Dirk Hartogs and the neighbouring islands, where it was found among the impenetrable
low thickets formed of a species of Mimosa; “from these bushes,” says MM. Peron and Lesueur, “ it
cuts away the lower branches and spines so as to form galleries communicating one with another, in which
it takes refuge in time of danger. The females bring forth but one young one at a time. Although
abundant on the islands, none were to be found on the main land. These little Kangaroos, like all
feeble animals which have neither the power of attack nor of defence, are extremely timid. The slightest
noise caused them to take flight to the thick brushwood in which their galleries are constructed, and
where it is impossible to pursue them; hence, although very common, they are difficult to procure.”
Although the above-mentioned naturalists were unable to discover the animal on the main land, the
researches of more recent travellers, aided by the facilities afforded by the colonization of the country,
have shown that it is not only abundant there, but enjoys a most extensive range. Mr. Gilbert found it
far in the interior of the Swan River Colony, and Mr. Eyre, one of the most indefatigable of Australian
explorers, states that he frequently observed it in the Murray Scrub of South Australia; here then we have a
range of many thousand square miles of country as the known habitat of this beautiful species, and we may
consequently infer, that every intermediate district between Southern and Western Australia favourable to
its habits is tenanted by it. Mr. Gilbert states that it is called MJarnine by the natives of the interior of
Western Australia, and is only to be found in densely thick scrubs, on flats and on the edges of swamps,
where the small brush JJe/aleuca grows so thickly, that it is almost impossible for a man to force his way
through; its runs being under this, the animal escapes even the quick eye of a native. The only possible
means of obtaining it is by having a number of natives to clear the spot, and two or three with dogs and
guns to watch for it.
During an excursion into the interior Mr. Gilbert was so fortunate as to cross one of its haunts, but so
dense was the vegetation, that after three days of severe toil, he was only able to secure a single specimen ;
he adds, that it appears to run in company with the Damas, which being more numerous were continually
presenting themselves and disappointing him, the vegetation being much too thick to distinguish the one
from the other until after they had been shot. The natives are in the habit of burning these thickets at
intervals of three years, and by this means destroy very great numbers ; and this, in fact, appears to be
the only plan they could very well adopt for capturing both the Aarnine and the Dama, for the mere
treading down an open space, as is done at King George’s Sound, will not answer here: the specimen he
procured was a male, and weighed three pounds and three-quarters.
From the period of MM. Péron and Lesueur’s Voyage in 1800—1804 until 1842, when M. Priess, a
German naturalist, visited Western Australia, no example of this little Kangaroo was sent to Europe. The
specimens from which the description published by the former gentlemen was taken, still form part of the
collection of the ‘ Jardin des Plantes” at Paris, but from long exposure to a powerful light, and their
muzzles having in the course of time become denuded of hair, their appearance is so much altered, that I
was induced to believe that the animal brought home by M. Priess was both generically and specifically
distinct ; and therefore, while, from their apparently naked muzzles, I placed the Paris animals in the genus
Bettongia, 1 referred the recently received specimen to the genus Lagorchestes, and gave it the name of
L. alvepilis; this error has been corrected by Mr. Waterhouse, who, after a careful examination and
comparison of specimens, satisfied himself that they were identical,—an opinion in which I now entirely
coincide.
The flesh is said to resemble that of the rabbit, but has a slight aromatic flavour, arising probably from
the nature of the plants on which they feed, nearly all of which are fragrant.
When MM. Péron and Lesueur visited the islands, all the females carried young in their pouch, and the
devotedness with which they sought to save their offspring was truly admirable; although wounded they
flew with the young in the pouch, and never left them until, overcome with fatigue and loss of blood, they
could no longer carry them; they then stopped, and squatting themselves on their hind-legs, helped the
young to get out of the pouch by means of the fore-feet, and sought to place them in a situation favourable
for retreat.
Mr. Gilbert states that it makes no nest, but when on the plains squats precisely like a hare.
‘The sexes are very similar, and may be thus described :—
The fur is very long and soft; its general colour greyish, variegated with black, white, and rusty red,
the latter colour being most conspicuous round the eyes; on the back are numerous narrow, transverse
black bands; these are somewhat irregular and not well-defined; the spaces between the bands are partly
of a rusty red, and partly whitish; the white joins the dark band, and is gradually shaded into the rusty
red, to be followed by the next dark band; over the whole of the upper surface, sides and cheeks are
numerous very long interspersed hairs, which have the exposed portion white, but, like the ordinary fur, are
nearly black at the root; under surface dirty white, with a considerable admixture of grey; the ears are
clothed with lengthened Aine hairs internally, and externally with short hairs finely freckled with brownish
black and white; fore-feet dirty rust-red ; tarsi pale rusty red penciled with blackish; sides of both tarsi
and toes pale brown; tail tolerably well covered with short adpressed brownish grey hairs; on the under
side the hairs are somewhat longer and of a brownish white; on the upper surface is a narrow blackish
streak, and on the apical third the hairs are lengthened, and form a small dark crest at the point; they
are sometimes an inch in length.
The Plate represents an adult male about the size of life.
he a ne ANN 0 SERRE D LITLE OL OED:
pmo © SACIOUO TAT Sa S AHO WOOVT
LAGORCHESTES LEPOROIDES, Gowda.
Hare Kangaroo.
Macropus Leporides, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part viii. p. 93.—Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib. M arsupialia, p. 204.
Lagorchestes Leporoides, Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Gray, List of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit.
Mus., p. 95.
Macropus (Lagorchestes) Leporoides, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 82.
Tue name of Hare Kangaroo has been given to this species, as much from the similarity of its size and
the colour and texture of its fur, as from its habits assimilating in many particulars to those of that animal.
I usually found it solitary, and sitting close in a well-formed seat under the shelter of a tuft of grass on the
open plains. For a short distance its fleetness is beyond that of all others of its group that I have had an oppor-
tunity of coursing ; its powers of leaping are also equally extraordinary, in proof of which I may mention an
incident connected with the chase of the animal which occurred to myself. While out on the plains in
South Australia I started a Hare Kangaroo before two fleet dogs; after running to the distance of a quarter
of a mile, it suddenly doubled and came back upon me, the dogs following close at its heels ; I stood per-
fectly still until the animal had arrived within twenty feet before it observed me, when to my astonishment,
instead of branching off to the right or to the left, it bounded clear over my head, and on descending to the
ground I was enabled to make a successful shot, by which it was procured.
Considerable diversity of colour is observable in different specimens, some being much redder than others ;
but the sexes are scarcely distinguishable in size.
I have but little doubt that this animal enjoys a wide range over the interior of New South Wales ; it
certainly inhabits the Liverpool Plains as well as those in the neighbourhood of the Namoi and the Gwydyr,
from all of which localities I have received numerous examples ; it is equally certain that it is found on the
grassy plains of South Australia, for I not only found it there myself, but specimens have since been sent
to me from thence by the late Mr. Strange. Now as the character of all these districts is very similar, it is
probable that the Hare Kangaroo is equally abundant in the intermediate countries as it is in those above
mentioned ; as yet, I have never seen specimens in collections from the Northern or Western portions of
Australia.
The following is Mr. Waterhouse’s description of the character of the fur and the colouring of this
animal, which being taken from my own specimen, and more minute than that given by myself in the
«« Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” is here transcribed.
‘Fur long and soft ; on the upper parts of the body variegated with black, rust-colour and rusty white,
the white most conspicuous and the rust-colour but little seen ; the back of the neck and shoulders, and a
considerable space round each eye tinted with palish rust-colour, sometimes inclining to buffy yellow; sides
of the body and haunches suffused with rust-colour ; under parts greyish white tinted with rust-colour, but
nearly pure white between the hind legs; fore legs with a more or less strongly marked black patch, at the
base externally (or behind the elbow), but the hairs on this part are pencilled with white; fore arm and
hand with short brown hairs, pencilled with very pale brown; on the middle of the tibia is a dusky patch ;
tarsi impure palish rust-colour finely freckled with brown ; toes brownish ; tail clothed throughout with
small adpressed hairs, which are partly black and partly white ; beneath brownish white ;” nails of the hind
feet very long, pointed, and jet-black.
The figure is about the natural size; if at all different, it is a trifle less.
FEET IS RRS At Res ee mri ars tS
OES TL ACHIA SAS TOT Ov T
eh cee ea
AMY, VOU BP POPUP UY VY
-LAGORCHESTES HIRSUTUS, Gow.
Rufous Hare Kangaroo.
Lagorchestes hursutus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1844, p. 32.
Macropus (Lagorchestes) hirsutus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. 1. p. 92.
Aut the examples I have seen of this species, some of which are at the British Museum, and the remainder
in my own collection, have been procured in Western Australia, whence they were sent to this country by
Mr. Gilbert; judging from the size of Lagorchestes fasciatus, 1 should suppose that the present animal
would weigh about four or six pounds, the weight of a moderate-sized hare. The lengthened shaggy
reddish hairs, which are abundantly distributed over the lower part of the back, and particularly near
the base of the tail, at once distinguish it from all the other members of the genus. The only note trans-
mitted by Mr. Gilbert, respecting the habits of the species, is as follows :—
‘Tt has a hairy muzzle: in its habits it assimilates in an equal degree to those of the Bettongie and the
Lagorchesti. Yt constructs a burrow, open at both ends, with a seat at the side of the entrance, from
which it plunges into the burrow the instant it is alarmed. It feeds on the open country adjacent to the
thickets, where there is a low thick scrub about two feet high: when running, and particularly when
hunted, it utters a singular note, resembling the syllable mg rather quickly repeated. Some slight
difference is found to exist in specimens from various localities, which I presume must be regarded as due
to the difference of situation, and nothing more.” He adds, that it is called Wo0-rup by the Aborigines of
the interior of Western Australia, who appear to give the name of Mor-da to the animal during the period
of immaturity; at all events, the young example sent by him with that name attached to it, is undoubtedly
the young of the present species. Both the adult and the young were procured in the Walyemara
district.
Mr. Waterhouse having given a very accurate description of this animal from the specimens in the British
Museum, I take the liberty of transcribing it :—
‘The fur is long and moderately soft; the upper parts of the body grey, much tinted with rufous brown
and freely pencilled with white; the sides of the body, rump, hind- and fore-legs are of a bright rust-red,
deepest on the hinder and palest on the fore-legs; the throat, chest and mesial line of the belly rusty white ;
crown of the head grey; a broad space around the eye is of a bright, but palish rust-red, which tint extends
on to the muzzle; a whitish line on the upper lip runs back past the angle of the mouth; ear clothed inter-
nally with somewhat lengthened white hairs, externally they are pencilled with rusty yellow and dusky, the
former being, however, the prevailing tint; the hinder half is almost entirely clothed with small white hairs ;
the fore-feet are clothed with glistening yellowish white hairs; the tarsus is almost entirely of a pale rusty
red, but is of a rusty white towards the hinder part, and the toes are obscurely suffused with brownish
rust-red ; the tail is clothed throughout with short, stiff, adpressed hairs, scarcely hiding the scaly skin ;
they are finely pencilled with black and rust-red at the base of the tail, but on the upper surface they assume
an uniform brownish black tint, which is continued to the point; on the under surface they are of a dirty
pale rust-red, and towards the apex is a naked scaly space of about an inch in length; the fur of the back
is nearly black next the skin, but a considerable portion of each hair is of a brownish rust-red; near the
point the hairs are broadly annulated with white, and at the point they are dusky or black ; on the belly the
fur is ashy grey next the skin.”
The figure is rather less than the natural size.
JN
LEAL EL Lars
EL LEL SM LLL L
LLL] UL, P PLPLOLLTZPLY
Gs
LAGORCHESTES CONSPICILLATA, Gouid.
Spectacled Hare Kangaroo.
Lagorchestes conspicillatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part ix. p. 82.—Ib. Mon. of Macropodide, pl. —
Gray, List of Spec. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 95.
Macropus (Lagorchestes) conspicillatus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 85.
I nave again to offer my thanks to the Officers of H.M.S. Beagle for subjects they have contributed to
my illustrations of Australian zoology, and especially for the loan of two fine specimens of this highly
interesting Lagorchestes, the second species yet discovered of this beautiful form. It is to Capt. Wickham
and Mr. Bynoe that science is indebted for its discovery. It was procured on Barrow Island, which lies off
the north-western coast of Australia, about thirty miles from the main land. The two specimens collected’
by those gentlemen are fortunately male and female, and hence the subject is rendered so much the more
complete. The specimen sent me by Captain Wickham has, by his desire, been presented to the national
collection at the British Museum, and his example will, I feel assured, be followed by my esteemed friend
Mr. Bynoe, as no exertion should be spared to render that collection, already so fine, as complete as possible.
This species is rather less in size than the Lagorchestes Leporoides, from which it is distinguished by its
fur being more dense and harsh to the touch, by the extreme blackness of the basal part of the hair, by the
shortness of its ears, by the want of the black patch at the base of the arm, and by the red colouring around
the eyes being of a more brilliant rusty hue than in that animal.
The sexes are alike in colour and size.
The above was published in my ‘Monograph of the Macropodide ’ nearly twenty years ago ; and, as Barrow
Island has not been visited since, we have not received any additional examples of this very distinct species
of Lagorchestes. Both the specimens above alluded to are in the British Museum.
Fur very long, dense, and rather soft to the touch; on the back it is of a black colour next the skin,
yellowish white towards the apex, shaded into deeper yellow still nearer to the point, and black at the point ;
on the lower part of the back the portion of each hair which is yellow on the back is replaced by white,
and there is an oblique white mark on each side of the rump; fur on the side of the body deep grey next
the skin, brownish yellow in the middle, followed by black, then whitish, and at the point black ; on the under
surface of the body the fur is ash-coloured next the skin, and white externally, excepting on the sides of the
belly, where it is of a rusty yellow hue externally ; the hair on the upper surface of the head is black, freely
pencilled with yellowish white ; a broad space round the eye is covered with bright rusty red hairs, and this hue,
though less bright, is pore backwards beneath the ear ; lips and chin dirty white; throat white; ears
internally clothed with whitish hairs, and externally with dirty white hairs on the apical portion, but towards
the base there is an admixture of black; fore- and hind-legs and feet pale, the hairs being dirty white at
the point and brown next the skin; tail slender, and, being but sparingly clothed with short dirty white
bristly hairs, permits the scaly character of the skin to be seen; on the under SEE it is more densely
clothed, and the hairs are longer and of a dirty yellowish hue.
Male.
feet. inches.
Length from the nose to the extremity of the tail. . . . . . . 2 8t
a OR alley (yl ges Se, Ba og ee ete ad a cae eae | 1g;
» of tarsus and toes, dlidhae ne iti 62
»» Of arm and hand, including the nails 3
», Of face from the tip of the nose to the base of she ear Sy
ee Olecan it
The accompanying Plates represent the head of the natural size, and the entire animal reduced.
hy IY EY Yo PIPE ZY PY : i r ; LTE ECE ME
LAGORCHESTES LEICHARDTI, Gowda
Leichardt’s Hare Kangaroo.
Two specimens—one adult, the other immature—of this beautiful species of Lagorchestes have been
transmitted to me by direction of the Council of the:Australian Museum at Sydney, New South Wales, for
the purpose of being described and figured in the present work. The specimens in question formed
part of the Mammalia collected by Dr. Leichardt during his extensive overland journey from Moreton
Bay to Port Essington; unfortunately no information has been furnished me respecting them; perhaps,
indeed, none was obtained. I am, therefore, unable to state the precise locality in which they were pro-
cured ; but as I find no mention of them in the late Mr. Gilbert’s Journal, we may infer that they were not
obtained until after his lamented death, and that the country between the Gulf of Carpentaria and Port
Essington is the natural habitat of the species. I have named it Leichardti, from a desire to assist in
perpetuating the name of the intrepid traveller who has done so much in the exploration of Australia,
and whose life it is to be feared has fallen a sacrifice to his zeal for discovery in the previously untraversed
portions of that strange country.
The only species with which the Z. Letchardti could be confounded is the LZ. conspicillatus, but on com-
parison it will be found to differ from that animal in the richly contrasted colouring of its crisp and wiry
fur, in the whiteness of its rump and tail, in the brighter rusty hue of the space surrounding the eye, in the
chestnut colour of the basal portion of the fur, and in its smaller ears.
I cannot conclude without offering my thanks to the Council of the Australian Museum for their kindness
and liberality in permitting this rare and interesting animal to be sent to Europe, the discovery of which
adds so much to the interest of “‘ The Mammals of Australia.”
Face grizzled grey and brown, passing into rufous between and on the ears, which are margined with
white ; around’ the eye a conspicuous oval patch of lively ferruginous red; hairs of the cheeks stiff and
bristly ; all the upper surface mottled rufous black and white, the base of the fur being chestnut, passing
into black about the middle, then into white, and lastly into dark rufous at the tip; on the rump and base
of the tail these colours give place to greyish white, intermingled with black ; all the under surface greyish
white ; at the insertion of the hinder limbs two curved marks of grey; hands and toes washed with buff ;
nails black ; tail greyish white.
Total length from the nose to the extremity of the tail two feet four inches ; of the tail thirteen inches ;
of the tarsus and toes including the nail five inches and three-quarters ; of the arm and hand including the
nail three inches ; of the face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear two inches and five-eighths ;
of the ear one inch and an eighth.
The figure is rather under the size of life.
*
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4
BETTONGIA PENICILLATA, Gray.
Jerboa Kangaroo.
Bettongia penicillata, Gray, in Mag. of Nat. Hist. new ser. vol. i. p. 584.— Waterh. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 183.—
Gould, Mon. of Macropodide.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 93.
Hypsiprymnus murinus, Ogilby, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part vi. p. 63.
setosus, Waterh. Cat. of Mamm. in Mus. Zool. Soc., p. 65.
(Bettongia) penicillatus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 212. pl. 9.
Tue eastern parts of Australia, particularly the districts on the interior side of the ranges of New South
Wales, constitute the true habitat of the species figured on the accompanying Plate. I observed it to be
very abundant on the Liverpool Plains, and on the banks of the river Namoi, from its source to its junction
with the Gwydyr; but between the ranges and the coast I did not meet with it. I do not, however, assert
that it is not an inhabitant of those districts also; but, if it be, it is certain that it is far less abundant there
than on the other side of the ranges. I have never seen an example from South Australia; its place in that
part of the country appearing to be supplied by its near ally the Bettongia Ogilbyz, a species dispersed in
abundance from thence to the western limits of the country, or the colony of Swan River. Mr. Waterhouse
is inclined to believe that these eastern and western animals (B. penzcllata and B. Ogilbyi) are merely varie-
ties of one and the same species; and, while I admit the feasibility of this opinion, the markings and
colouring of the two animals are so different, that, in a work on the Mammals of Australia, I cannot do
otherwise than figure both of them, leaving their specific value to be ascertained by future zoologists, should
noopportunity for fully investigating the subject occur to myself: it is just one of those cases in which a
careful examination of a great number of specimens and skeletons from both localities is required to
determine so dubious a question, and such materials are not at present accessible.
Like the other members of the genus, this species constructs a thick grassy nest, which is placed. in a
hollow scratched on the ground for its reception, so that when completed it is only level with the surround-
ing grass, which it so closely resembles, that without a careful survey it may be passed unnoticed: the
site chosen for the nest is the foot of a bush or any large tuft of grass; during the day it is generally
tenanted by one, and sometimes by a pair of these little creatures, which lying coiled in the centre are per-
fectly concealed from view; there being no apparent outlet, it would seem that after they have crept in
they drag the grass completely over the entrance, when, as I have before stated, the whole is so like the
surrounding herbage that it is scarcely perceptible. The natives, however, rarely pass without detecting its
presence, and almost invariably kill the sleeping inmates, by dashing their tomahawk or heavy clubs at it.
The most curious circumstance connected with the history of the Jerboa Kangaroo is the mode in which it
collects the grasses for its nest: these, as may be seen in the accompanying Plate, are carried with its tail,
which is strongly prehensile, and, as may be easily imagined, their appearance when leaping towards their
nests with their tails loaded with grasses is exceedingly grotesque and amusing : this curious feat is even ex-
hibited in a state of confinement, a pair in the Menagerie of the late Earl of Derby having evinced the same
natural habits, by frequently loading their tails with the hay of their nests, and carrying it round the
cage in which they were kept. The usual resorts of the Jerboa Kangaroo are low grassy hills and dry
ridges, thinly intersected with trees and bushes; and although not strictly gregarious, numbers may be found
in the same locality. It is a nocturnal animal, lying curled up in the shape of a ball during the day, and
sallying forth as night approaches in quest of food, which consists of grasses and roots, the latter being pro-
cured by scratching and burrowing, for which its fore-claws are admirably adapted, and its vicinity is fre-
quently indicated by the little excavations it has made. When startled from its nest, it bounds with amazing
rapidity, and always seeks the shelter of a hollow tree, or a small hole in a rock, etc.
Fur moderately long, and not very soft to the touch; general colour brown ; the hairs on the upper sur-
face grey at the base, pencilled with rusty white near ae tip, and black at the point; under surface dirty
white; internal surface of the ear yellow; feet very pale brown; tail brown above and pale brown beneath,
the apical quarter clothed with brownish-black hairs, which are longer than those of the other parts of the
tail, and form a kind of tuft.
Male. Female.
feet. inches. feet. inches.
eneth imometne moe: tothe extremity of the tail <9 = (9. 45.2 1 2G 2 0.
wee ZO baile we ua eam tena! : htc Tic ot caret me ee a 1 lit
» of tarsus and toes, including the a 5 4
> of arm and hand, including the nails : 34 ge
» of face from the tip of the nose to the base of he ear 34 3
bes of ear It 1
The figures are of the natural size.
SS a pal a ei
LDP LP PRY DL PUY PYPOY P
os eg
LULL UGE Y JLPUP UY : = : : .
PYOOD TRATED ® FULINO dell oar
BETTONGIA OGILBYTI, Gowda.
Ogilby’s Jerboa Kangaroo.
Bettongia Ogilbyi, Gould, MSS.
Hypsiprymnus Ogilbyi, Waterh. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 185.
Bettongia Ogilbu, Gray, List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 93.
Hypsiprymnus (Bettongia) Ogilbyi, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 214.
Bettongia Gouldi, Gray °
Tue Bettongia Ogilbyi is as abundantly distributed over Western Australia as the B. penicillata is over New
South Wales, but while the latter appears to be confined to the country within the ranges, the former inhabits
the districts near the coast. Besides specimens from Swan River, I have received others from the late
Mr. Harvey, procured at Port Lincoln, and I have also seen examples in collections formed in the neighbour-
hood of Adelaide; those from the last-mentioned locality have the rufous tints of the tail and tarsi somewhat
less highly coloured, but in other respects specimens from these distant countries are perfectly similar.
The B. Ogilbyi always appeared to me to have a longer head and proportionately longer ears and some-
what more slender tarsi than B. penicillata; these, however, are only slight differences; but the darker
colouring of the body, the rusty red hue of the base and sides of the tail, and the rufous colouring of the
feet, are characters always observable in the western animal, and constitute a style of colouring never seen
in any example of the eastern species, or B. penicillata of New South Wales.
In Mr. Waterhouse’s remarks on my specimen of B. Ogzbyi, published in the volume of the ‘ Naturalist’s
Library,’ on the Marsupialia, he says, ‘‘ This species is very closely allied to B. penicillata, but its tarsi are
proportionately rather longer and more slender, and differ in being of a deeper hue; the ears are longer,
and the apical half of the tail is black both above and below. In B. penicillata the black hair is confined to
the upper surface of the tail; on the under part, lengthened, brown, adpressed hairs extend to the tip; this
under part is, moreover, much more densely clothed than in the present species, in which the hairs are not
sufficiently numerous to hide the scales: this does not arise from the wearing away of the hair, as is often
the case; for the under side of the tail is better covered than the sides.” In his more recent work, ‘ A Na-
tural History of the Mammalia,’ Mr. Waterhouse is rather doubtful as to the distinctness of the southern and
western animals, and remarks, “ All that can be said is, that the specimens of the tufted-tailed Bettongie,
from the western and southern districts, are generally somewhat darker in the colouring of the feet and tail
than those from New South Wales; but it is certainly, in some cases, difficult to distinguish these, which I
can but regard as local varieties, by a difference of colouring.”
‘«‘ This species,” says Mr. Gilbert in his notes on the ‘Mammals of Western Australia,’ “ appears to be
equally abundant in all parts of the colony, but to evince a preference, perhaps, for the white-gum forests.
It makes a nest of dried sticks or strong coarse grass, under the shelter of the overhanging grasses of the
Xanthorrhea, or a bunch of dried grasses or sticks ; the entrance being on one side and lengthened out so as
to form a tube or porch. When driven from the nest it generally resorts to a hollow tree or stump; if this
is not to be found, it makes a long circuit before returning to the nest. This animal is one of the favourite
articles of food of the natives, who are very quick in detecting the nest, and generally capture the little
inmate by throwing a spear through the nest and transfixing it to the ground, or by placing the foot upon
and crushing it to death. It is almost invariably found in pairs, and, like the true Macropi, the female throws
the young from the pouch when pursued.”
Fur dense, the under fur very abundant, soft, long and woolly, general colour brown, obscurely washed
with yellow on the sides of the face and body; under surface of the body dirty yellowish white ; ears
clothed with yellow hairs; hind feet brown, darkest on the sides, especially of the toes; fore-feet paler
brown ; tail well-clothed, a very small space at the base covered with fur, like that of the body ; beyond
this and extending to about the middle of the tail the hairs are of a rusty hue on the upper side, and very pale
brown on the under ; the apical half of the tail is clothed with black hairs, which vary from rather more than
half to three quarters of an inch in length; those nearest the tip are the longest: on the sides of the tail
the hairs are comparatively short, and excepting at the tip they are of a deep brown colour; on the under
side of the apical half of the tail the hairs are longer than on the sides, and of a black colour; the ordinary
hairs of the back are rather broadly annulated with pale rusty yellow, sometimes rusty white, and at the
point they are blackish brown ; the longer interspersed hairs are black; the fur both on the upper and
under parts of the body is grey at the base.
The figures are of the natural size.
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See
BETTONGIA CUNICULUS.
Tasmanian Jerboa Kangaroo.
HAypsiprymnus cuniculus, Ogilb. in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xi. p. 43.—Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib., Marsupialia, p. 186.
Bettongia setosa, Gray in Mag. Nat. Hist., new. ser. vol. i. p. 584.—Ib. List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus. Coll., p. 93.
cuniculus, Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl.
Hypsiprymuus (Bettongia) cuniculus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 200.—Gunn, Proc. of Roy. Soc. of
Van Diemen’s Land, vol. ii. p. 86.
Forest Kangaroo-Rat of the colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.
Few of the indigenous quadrupeds of Van Diemen’s Land are better known than the present, which
may be said to be universally dispersed over that island, wherever localities occur favourable to its habits and
mode of life; these are grassy plains and the stony ridges of the outskirts of the forest, precisely the reverse
of the situations affected by the Aypseprymnus apicals, which resorts to the low and swampy districts covered
with green and dense vegetation.
The Bettongia cuniculus is altogether a larger and more robust animal than either B. Grayi or B. peni-
cillata. From the former it differs in having a rather more lengthened face, and from the latter in the
tip of the tail being white. Mr. Waterhouse states that it is not only distinguished from the latter by
its size, but that the proportions of the crania of the two animals differ very considerably. I believe
the species to be strictly confined to Van Diemen’s Land, as I have never received examples from any part
of the continent. The only outward difference in the sexes consists in the smaller size of the female. It
makes a thick and warm grassy nest in a slight depression under the shelter of a bush or large tuft of
grass, and feeds on bulbous and other roots, which it readily scratches up with the powerful claws of its
fore feet.
Mr. Richter has handed me the following notes made by him while engaged in drawing the animal in the
Gardens of the Zoological Society in the Regent’s Park :—
“The Bettongia cuniculus collected together a large mass of straw, &c. with its fore feet, threw it backward
between its hind legs, curled the tail around it and hopped about with it in this position for several hours
during the night. Both B. cuniculus and B. Ogdby: have the power of elevating the duplex toe of the hind
foot to scratch their ears, &c. In fighting, the teeth and fore legs are but little used; their chief attack
being made by throwing themselves on one side and lashing out, with great velocity and strength, with their
hind legs. In confinement they are very partial to bread and milk sweetened with sugar. They are very
tame, seldom biting or showing anger on being handled. When angry they emit a succession of short
hisses. The two species seem very inimical to each other. They drink a great quantity of water, as much
as two or three ounces at a time, by lapping with the tongue. They invariably sleep with the tail brought
between the hind legs and curled round the head, which is depressed to the ground. If given plenty of
clean hay they cover themselves completely with it, forming a sort of bower or nest.”
Fur rather long and not very soft; general colour brownish grey, pencilled with white; feet brownish
white ; tail well clothed with pale brown hairs, gradually passing into dark brown near the extremity and
tipped with pure white; margin of the ears slightly tinged with yellowish ; under surface of the body dirty
white ; fur both of the upper and under surface grey at the base.
The figures are of the natural size.
We
“tones
¥, aan ae
ah
i a
diy Mon Y ppununypiy YR 22 TO L2RYIT 9 ff JUL Japp f°
pn "TI VHD VIONOWLL A
BETTONGIA GRAITI, Gouid.
Gray’s Jerboa Kangaroo.
Hypsiprymnus Graii, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part viii. p. 178.—Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib. Mamm., vol. xi.
(Marsupiaha) p. 190.
Bettonyia Grayu, Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 93.
Hypsiprymnus (Bettongia) Graii, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 203.
————— Lesueuri, Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de la Coquille ?
Boor-dee, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.
I rirsr described this species in the ‘“ Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London” for 1840, from
Swan River specimens, and remarked that it differed from its near ally, the Bettongia rufescens, in being
of an ashy-brown colour above, and in having the hairs which clothe the back of the ears of the same colour
as those of the head. During the years which have elapsed between 1840 and the time at which I am now
writing (1855), many other specimens have come under my notice, the examination of which has confirmed
my views as to its specific value: although in some of its characters it approximates to B. rufescens, its
most near ally is the species found in Van Diemen’s Land, and figured under the name of B. cuniculus ; it
differs, however, from that animal in its more bluff head and in its shorter hind feet. Mr. Waterhouse
remarks also, that although the many specimens which have come under his notice exhibited considerable
variation in their colouring, and sometimes approximated very closely to other species, yet, with the
assistance of the skull, he found no difficulty in distinguishing them.
I have received examples of this animal from various parts of the south-western coasts of Australia, and
it appears to be equally abundant in the plains around Adelaide as in those in the neighbourhood of Perth
in Western Australia. My drawing was taken from living examples in the Menagerie of the Zoological
Society, and I mention this because the positions may appear somewhat singular, but they are correct
representations of those the animals assumed at the time. Mr. Gilbert, who had many opportunities of
observing the Bettongia Grait in Western Australia, states that :—
“Tt is truly gregarious, many dwelling together in extensively ramified burrows with several entrances,
before which the excavated earth is formed into large mounds; the openings are not, as usual, mere round
holes, but are dug out in the form of tunnels with perpendicular sides, as correct as if dug with a spade.
These burrows’ are usually constructed in a bank sloping down to a brook or river, and are very numerous
along both banks of the river Avon. I made several attempts to dig them out, but failed in every instance
in consequence of the depth, six or eight feet, and sometimes even more, at which the burrows are
constructed, and of their running one into the other in endless confusion. The Boor-dee is exclusively a
nocturnal feeder, and, by quietly watching near the entrances to the burrows at sunset, may be shot in
considerable numbers either when they emerge or while feeding in the immediate vicinity. It is one of the
most destructive animals to the garden of the settler that occurs in Western Australia, almost every kind
of vegetable being attacked by it, but especially peas and beans; and I know of no species of its size which
makes so loud a thumping noise while hopping along the ground on being alarmed; besides making
this noise with its feet, it also utters, when first started, a most singular succession of sounds, which
I find it impossible to describe. Many of the specimens brought in by the natives were much discoloured,
either by their dirty cloaks, or the clayey soil in which they had been captured. A remarkable circumstance
connected with this animal is, that it is extremely difficult to meet with specimens which are not more or
less denuded of the fur of the back, and I have often shot examples almost destitute of fur on any part of the
body ; whether this is the result of disease or some accidental circumstance I am unable to say, but the
skins of several I examined certainly presented a very similar appearance to that of dogs afflicted with
mange.
‘The Boor-dee is confined to the interior, and, besides burrowing as above described, sometimes dwells
among the rocks like the Petrogale.”
Fur of the upper and under surface grey at the base; hairs of the under surface dirty-white externally 5
those of the back dirty-white, inclining to ash-colour near the apex, and tipped with brownish-black ; on the
sides of the head and body a very faint wash of yellow; ears sparingly clothed, internally with small
yellowish hairs, externally with fur like that of the head; feet, greyish-brown in Western Australian
specimens, and dark brown, inclining to chestnut, in those from South Australia. A similar difference
occurs in the colouring of the tail; there is also an absence of white hairs near the tip of South Australian
specimens ; nose and other denuded parts flesh-colour.
The figures are about the size of life.
Pile
Aaa
nie
SF eS eras Rte Y e
MELE? YP SAYPY If PUP PROD
fog § SNTOSUMOW VIONOLLAG i
Lill] UY, Y YOULL
=a
BETTONGIA RUFESCENS, Gray.
Rufous Jerboa Kangaroo.
Bettongia rufescens, Gray, Mag. Nat. Hist. 1837, vol. i. p. 584.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Gray, List
of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 94.
Hypsiprymnus rufescens, Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib. Mamm., vol. xi. (Marsupialia) p. 188.—Ib. Nat. Hist. of
Mamm., vol. i. p. 196.
melanotis, Ogilby in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part vi. p. 62.
Tuere will be but little difficulty in distinguishing this species from every other member of the genus
Betiongia yet discovered. It is the largest and most powerful of its tribe, and this remark applies parti-
cularly to its strong hind feet and legs: the hair with which it is clothed is also more harsh and bristly than
that of its allies; again, the back part of the ears is nearly black, and the back and upper surface generally
are strongly suffused with chestnut-brown, with which the stiff silvery-white interspersed hairs present a
strong contrast. The south-eastern portion of the continent is its true habitat; and it is almost universally
dispersed over New South Wales, both on the sea and interior side of the mountain ranges. I found it
very abundant on the stony sterile ridges bordering the grassy flats of the Upper Hunter, and in all similar
situations. It constructs a warm nest in which it lies coiled up during the day, the nests being placed
under the shelter of a fallen tree or some scrubby bush: it sometimes sits in a form like the Hare
Kangaroo, but never sits out on the open plains like that species: on being startled, it runs for a short
distance with remarkable rapidity ; but, from its invariably seeking shelter in the hollow logs, easily falls
a prey to the natives, who hunt it for food. In size it fully equals that of a full-grown rabbit: its food
consists of roots and grasses. There is no material difference in the colouring of the sexes; but in size
the female is somewhat smaller than the male.
Fur harsh and wiry; general colour grizzled-grey and rufous, the latter hue predominating on the back 5
ears black externally and buffy-white internally ; under surface greyish-white, slightly tinged with buff; tail
strongly prehensile, covered with short wiry grizzled-grey hairs, becoming whiter towards the tip, where
they are much lengthened; under side of the tail, throughout its whole length, dirty-white ; hands grey ;
nails white ; tarsi and feet greyish.
The figures are about the size of life.
4
t
>.
huey ogy y
= 4 s “ fe i ——— — ees pte ie oe: ede Ses PERM pS ag eee rae pe Chen seutine
| | °STMLS AaLINVD Te
mente ol eo alanspast
VID NO Male
BETTONGIA CAMPESTRIS, Gow.
Plain-loving Jerboa-Kangaroo.
Bettongia campestris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part xi. p. 81.
Hypsiprymnus (Bettongia) campestris, Waterh. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. i. p. 221.
Ir will be readily seen, on glancing at the accompanying Plate, that the Bettongia campestris cannot be con-
founded with any other species ; its bluff head, the yellow colouring of its sides, and the peculiarly rigid
texture of its fur being characters not combined in any of its congeners.
The stony and sandy plains of the interior of South Australia partially clothed with scrub are its native
habitat, and I have not yet seen specimens of it from the other colonies either to the east or to the westward.
As confirmatory of its specific value I quote from Mr. Waterhouse, who says :—
“This is a very distinct species, remarkable for its short and broad head, and its general pale yellowish
colouring.
“The hairs of the back are grey at the root, yellow in the middle, then blackish, followed by a long
yellow white space, and black tip; on the chest and belly they are pale grey at the base and yellowish
externally, but on the lower part of the abdomen the grey is wanting; the upper lip is white; the muffle is
naked ; tarsi rusty white; the tail is sparingly clothed with small pale hairs on the upper surface and sides; »
on the under part the hairs are more dense, harsher, and of a brownish white colour; the sides of the body
and the outer surface of the hind legs are of a more distinct yellowish hue than the other parts.”
The figures are of the natural size.
duly Loge yy PepuenmuLyypuy YW) PPP “PPT HPL” PPE L
“SULNITSLOIN SONIA XU dS dA
HYPSIPRYMNUS MURINUS.
New South Wales Rat-Kangaroo.
Poto-Roo or Kangaroo Rat, White’s Journ., p. 286. pl.
Macropus minor, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. i. part 11. p. 513. pl. 116.
- Hypsiprymnus murinus, Ill. Prod. Syst. Mamm., p. 79.
Potoroiis murinus, Desm. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxvii. p. 79, 80.—Ib. Mammalogie, p. 271.
Hypsiprymnus setosus, Ogilb. in Proc. of Comm. of Sci. and Corr. of Zool. Soc., part 1. p. 149.
Peron, Quoy et Gaim. Zool. de l’Uranie, p. 64.
myosurus, Ogilb. in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part 6. p. 62?
(Potoroiis) murinus, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 225.
Bettong of the Aborigines of New South Wales.
Tux hot and dry climate of the Australian continent appears not to be so well adapted for the members of
the genus Hypsiprymnus as the more humid atmosphere of Van Diemen’s Land, and hence it 1s only in the
swampy and damp parts of the brushes of New South Wales that the A. Murius is to be found in any
abundance. ‘The district of Illawarra, Botany Bay, the low scrubs bordering the rivers Hunter, Manning,
and Clarence, are the principal localities in which it may be successfully sought for.
The Hypsiprymnus murinus is one of the very oldest known species of the Australian quadrupeds, and this
will, in some measure, account for the long list of synonyms assigned to it, and the diversity of opinion
entertained by zoologists regarding its identity. Mr. Waterhouse, who has carefully investigated the subject,
has cleared up these difficulties so successfully, that, my own opinion coinciding with his, it will be as well,
perhaps, to transcribe the entire passage :—
‘The present species was first described by Hunter under the name Potoroo, or Kangaroo-Rat, in the
Appendix to “ White’s Journal,” and from the description and somewhat rude figure there given, it would
have been difficult to determine to which of the numerous species of Rat-Kangaroo since discovered, the
Potoroo of White should be referred, were it not that the skull of that animal is still preserved in the
Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. By the aid of that skull we are enabled clearly to identify the
Potoroo of ‘ White’s Journal” (upon which Shaw founded his Macropus minor) with the Hypsiprymnus
murinus of Pander and D’Alton, and with the H. Peron of Quoy and Gaimard, founded upon a skull contained
in the Paris Museum, of which Professor Owen has been so kind as to lend me a drawing.
‘Mr. Ogilby states that the animal to which he has given the name of ZH. setosus, is known in the colony
of New South Wales by the name ‘ Bettong’ ; and this remark no doubt has reference to the Rat-Kangaroo,
so labelled in the collection of the Linnean Society, which specimens not only agree with Mr. Ogilby’s
description, but also with the animal I identify with the Macropus minor of Shaw.”
The following note was made by Mr. Richter from living examples in the menagerie of the Zoological
Society :-—
“Though these Hypsiprymni stand as much on the hind legs as the Bettongie, they run in an entirely
different manner, using the fore as well as the hind legs in a sort of gallop. They also never attempt to
kick with their hind legs. They are very gentle and inoffensive in their manners, and much more stupid
than the Bettongie. They feed like pigs, very seldom using the fore hands to convey their food to their
mouths, and seemed to be very partial to boiled rice. They are very pert in their attitudes, sitting up and
wriggling the tail laterally ; express disapprobation by a slight hiss or sharp expiration ; are very quick in
their movements, and equally lively during day or night.”
Fur long, loose, slightly glossy, and on the upper surface of the body of a dusky brown, a tint produced
by the visible portion of the longer hairs being black, and the shorter fur of a pale yellow hue; fur of the
under surface deep grey next the skin and of a dirty yellowish white on the surface; ears short and
rounded, clothed internally with dirty white hairs; feet brown.
The figures represent both sexes of the size of life.
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HYPSIPRYMNUS APICALIS, Goud.
Tasmanian Rat-Kangaroo.
Ever since my visit to Australia I have been induced to consider the animal here figured, which is a
native of Van Diemen’s Land, to be distinct from the species known as the Potoroo or Kangaroo-Rat of
« White’s Journal,” (Potorods murinus, Desm.), which inhabits New South Wales ; it has not been an ex-
amination of dried skins which has induced this opinion, but abundant opportunities for observing the animal
in a state of nature. Mr. Waterhouse, although he has made them identical, evidently had some doubt on
the subject, since, when figuring the skull of the Van Diemen’s Land animal, in comparison with that of
the one from New South Wales, he places a note of interrogation after the name he has given to the former.
I must admit that they are very closely allied, at the same time I find peculiar and well-marked characters
by which they may each be distinguished from the other. The Tasmanian animal is always nearly a third
larger in size, and has the tip of its tail white, a feature I have never seen in any other of the three species
inhabiting the continent of Australia.
The Hypsiprymnus apicalis is very generally, I may say universally, dispersed over Van Diemen’s Land ;
and I seldom failed to find it in low damp situations clothed with dense herbage: during the daytime it
lies coiled up in its nest among the herbage in a depression of the ground ; a very little noise near its
retreat is, however, sufficient to disturb its repose, and cause it to dart away with rabbit-like rapidity to
a place of security: it can seldom be induced to break covert into the open space, and if sharply pressed,
invariably takes to the shelter of a large tree or stone, which everywhere abound ; its food consists of roots,
herbage, and the bark and leaves of trees. I must not omit to remark, that in no instance have I known
dogs to partake of the flesh of this species either raw or dressed ; while that of the members of the genus
Bettongia is seldom refused. Mr. Richter has made so correct a drawing of this animal from life, and
has so well represented in the reduced figures two of the positions frequently assumed by it, that a glance
at the Plate will give more information on this point than any description.
The fur is long and of a dark hue; on the upper parts of the body it is of a dusky brown, a general tint
produced by the admixture of brown and pale brownish yellow, the visible portion of the longer and coarser
hairs being black, and that of the shorter fur of a pale yellow hue; the under surface of the body is of a
dirty yellowish white or pale buff tint, with the fur of those parts as well as that of the back of a deepish
erey colour next the skin; the ears are clothed internally with dirty white hairs, and externally with hairs of
the same colour as the rest of the head; the feet are brown; the tail is of a darker hue than the body, and
is tipped for about an inch with pure white; the muzzle is not only naked in front, but a narrow naked
space continues upward towards the forehead.
The front figure represents the animal of the natural size.
ely MOYPOY Y PPMP UP HYT WYP PP AYPY DU PPO LDL:
Prey TWAT SON WAITS dx
HYPSIPRYMNUS GILBERTI, Gow.
Gilbert’s Rat-Kangaroo.
Hypsiprymnus Gilberti, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part ix. p. 14.—Ib. Mon. of Macropodide, pl. .—Gray,
List. of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 94.
micropus, Waterh. in Jard. Nat. Lib., Marsupialia, p. 180.
—___——— (Potoroiis) Gilbertii, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 229.
Ngil-gyte, Aborigines of King George’s Sound.
Iv its outward appearance this little animal closely resembles the Hypsiprymnus murinus, but on a comparison
of the skulls of the two species a marked difference is observable, that of the present having the nasal bone
more produced or swollen out at the sides; the tarsi and tail also are shorter, and the general colour is of
a deeper hue in Gilbert’s than in the Hyp. murinus. These Flypsiprymni are evidently analogues of each
other, the former being found only on the western coast, while the other is confined to the eastern portions
of Australia.
The animal here represented was procured at King George’s Sound, where it is called Negil-gyte by the
Aborigines. In dedicating it to the late Mr. Gilbert, who proceeded with me to Australia to assist in the
objects of my expedition, I embraced with pleasure the opportunity afforded me of expressing my sense of
the great zeal and assiduity he displayed im the objects of his mission; and as science is indebted to him
for the knowledge of this and several other interesting discoveries, I trust that, however objectionable it
may be to name species after individuals, in this instance it will not be deemed inappropriate.
The above remarks were published in the first Part of my ‘‘ Monograph of the Macropodide or Family of
Kangaroos,” soon after which Mr. Gilbert made a second journey to the interior of Western Australia, and
while there, transmitted to me the following additional information respecting this species :—
«This little animal may be said to be the constant companion of Halmaturus brachyurus, as they are always
found together amidst the dense thickets and rank vegetation bordering swamps and running streams. The
natives capture it by breaking down a long, narrow passage in the thicket, in which a number of them
remain stationed, while others, particularly old men and women, walk through the thicket, and by beating
the bushes and making a yelling noise, drive the affrighted animals before them into the cleared space,
where they are immediately speared by those on the watch: in this way a tribe of natives will often kill
an immense number of both species in afew hours. I have not heard of the Hypsiprymnus Gilbert: being
found in any other part of the colony than King George’s Sound.”
General colour of all the upper surface mingled grey, brown and black, produced by the base of the hairs
being grey, the middle portion brown and black; centre and lower part of the back washed with reddish
brown; a blackish line commences at the nose and blends into the general colour on the forehead ; all the
under surface greyish white; hands greyish brown; feet blackish brown; tail black, very thinly clothed
with short hairs.
The figures are of the natural size.
LL] UTI YP TOPUDUYY HT
7?2P LILY IVY 5) Jf BUN Rpdey pe
HYPSIPRYMNUS PLATYOPS, Gouid.
Broad-faced Rat-Kangaroo.
Hypsiprymnus platyops, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xii. p. 103.
(Potorois) platyops, Waterh. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. i. p. 231.
Tuis species is the least of the family of Kangaroos yet discovered ; and is so rare that an adult male in
my own collection and another in that of the British Museum, both procured by Mr. Gilbert in Western
Australia, one in the Walyema Swamps, near Northam in the interior, and the other at King George’s
Sound, are all the examples that have yet been seen. When compared with Hypsiprymnus Gilberti and its
allies, the present species will be found to differ from the whole of them in several particulars ; the more
important of which are its smaller size and the great breadth of its zygomatic arches, which, together with
the brevity of its nose, give to the facial aspect of the animal a very bluff appearance, not unlike that
of the young Wombat.
At the time Mr. Waterhouse wrote the first volume of his ‘Natural History of the Mammalia,” the
specimen from which he took his description was the only one that had reached this country; the adult
male I have since received differs in no material respect, and I therefore transcribe his remarks and
description verbatim.
“This,” says Mr. Waterhouse, ‘ is a small and very distinct species, readily distinguished from Hyps.
minor and H. Gilberti by its having the tip of the muzzle naked in front only; while in the two species first
named the naked part of the muzzle is extended somewhat on the upper surface ; the zygomatic arches (so
far as may be judged from the skull enclosed in the skin) must be thrown boldly out from the cranium, and
thus give the breadth to the face which suggested the specific name.”
«The hairs constituting the fur, are, on the back, grey at the root, then yellowish brown, and this is
followed by a long space in each hair which is white, and this again is succeeded by black, that being the
colour of the tips of the hairs; the white portion, showing conspicuously, gives the upper parts of the body
the appearance of being distinctly pencilled with that hue; on the under parts of the body each hair is
pale grey at the root, and dusky white externally ; the feet are dirty white, indistinctly grizzled with
brownish ; this latter tint being most distinct on the sides of the toes: the ears are short and rounded,
externally clothed with longish hairs, which are partly brown and partly white, and internally with hairs
which are of a dirty white.”
The figures are of the natural size.
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